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Why Australia needs an effective national campaign to reduce coastal drowning

Australian children's literature

Australian plays for the colonial stage

Budgetary earmarking and the control of the extravagant woman in Australia, 1850-1920

  • Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Walker, Stephen
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Critical Perspectives on Accounting Vol. 18, no. 2 (2007), p. 233-261
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  • Description: During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Australian women (and Melbournian women in particular) were chastised for extravagance in dress. Excessive expenditure on fashionable clothing was considered a threat to personal solvency and domestic tranquillity. Female profligacy was also deemed self indulgent and unpatriotic in periods of economic and military crisis. Drawing on Zelizer's [Zelizer VA. The social meaning of money. New York: Basic Books; 1994] study of The social meaning of money the paper examines how the state attempted to contain female extravagance in dress by re-orientating spending priorities in household budgets. The earmarking ideology of patriotic thrift was conveyed by apparatuses such as cultural and communications media, the political system and voluntary associations. The earmarking ideology represented an onslaught on fashionable dress, a means of asserting feminine identity in a patriarchal society. The study reveals budgetary earmarking as a social process, which is reflective and constitutive of gendered asymmetries of power in the home.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005200

Exploring risk-awareness as a cultural approach to safety : An ethnographic study of a contract maintenance environment

  • Authors: Borys, David
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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  • Description: Safety culture has risen to prominence over the past two decades as a means by which organisations may enhance their safety performance. Safety culture may be conceptualised as an interpretive device that mediates between organisational safety rhetoric and safety programs on the one hand, and local workplace cultures on the other. More recently, risk-awareness has emerged as a cultural approach to safety. Front line workers are encouraged to become risk-aware through programs designed to prompt them to undertake mental or informal risk assessments before commencing work. The problem is that risk-awareness programs have not been the subject of systematic research and the impact of these programs on the culture of safety and the resultant level of risk is unknown. Therefore, this ethnographic study of two sites within a large contract maintenance organisation in Australia explored what impact risk-awareness programs have upon the culture of safety and the resultant level of risk. The researcher spent two months in the field and data was collected through participant observation, semistructured interviews and through a review of organisational documents. This study found that managers focused upon collecting the paperwork associated with the program as proof that workers had a safer workplace, whereas workers preferred to rely upon their common sense rather than the paperwork to keep them safe. As a consequence, the riskawareness program resulted in a culture of paperwork and varying levels of risk reduction because the paperwork associated with the program created an illusion of safety for managers as much as common sense did for workers. The results of this study have implications for safety culture, risk-awareness programs and for organisational learning. They also have implications for organisations wishing to improve their safety culture by encouraging risk-awareness in front-line workers.
  • Description: Doctor of Philosophy

High childhood obesity in an Australian population

  • Authors: Sanigorski, Andrea , Bell, Colin , Kremer, Peter , Swinburn, Boyd
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Obesity Vol. 15, no. 8 (2007), p. 1908-1912
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  • Description: Objective: The objective was to determine the prevalences of overweight and obesity in regional Australian children and to examine the association between BMI and indicators of socioeconomic status (SES). Research Methods and Procedures: Regionally representative cross-sectional survey of 2184 children, 4 to 12 years of age, was conducted, and the socio-demographic characteristics of their parents from regional Victoria, Australia, 2003 to 2004, were obtained. Results: The prevalences of overweight and obesity were 19.3 ± 0.8% (proportion ± standard error) and 7.6 ± 0.6%, respectively, using international criteria, and the proportion of overweight/obese girls was significantly higher than that of boys (29.6 ± 1.4% vs. 23.9 ± 1.3%,
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005678

Household accounting in Australia : A microhistorical study

  • Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Walker, Stephen
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 20, no. 2 (2007), p. 210-236
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  • Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to extend the work of Carnegie and Walker and report the results of Part 2 of their study on household accounting in Australia during the period from the 1820s to the 1960s. Design/methodology/ approach - The study adopts a microhistorical approach involving a detailed examination of actual accounting practices in the Australian home based on 18 sets of surviving household records identified as exemplars and supplemented by other sources which permit their contextualisation and interpretation. Findings - The findings point to considerable variety in the accounting practices pursued by individuals and families. Household accounting in Australia was undertaken by both women and men of the middle and landed classes whose surviving household accounts were generally found to comprise one element of diverse and comprehensive personal record keeping systems. The findings indicate points of convergence and divergence in relation to the contemporary prescriptive literature and practice. Originality/value - The paper reflects on the implications of the findings for the notion of the household as a unit of consumption as opposed to production, gender differences in accounting practice and financial responsibility, the relationship between changes in the life course and the commencement and cessation of household accounting, and the relationship between domestic accounting practice and social class. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005180

Household accounting in Australia : Prescription and practice from the 1820s to the 1960s

  • Authors: Carnegie, Garry , Walker, Stephen
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal Vol. 20, no. 1 (2007), p. 41-73
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  • Description: Purpose - Beyond the public world of work, the home provides an arena for examining accounting and gender in everyday life. This study aims to examine household accounting in Australia from the early nineteenth to around the mid-twentieth century. Design/methodology/approach - The study comprises two parts. The first part, as reported in this paper, presents evidence on household accounting as prescribed in the didactic literature in Australia, and evidence of actual accounting practices based on the examination of 76 sets of surviving Australian household records available in public repositories. The second part adopts a microhistorical approach involving the detailed scrutiny of 18 sets of accounting records and relevant biographical and family data on the household accountants involved. Findings - The study indicates that household accounting was an instrument for restraining female consumption, particularly during times of crises, and that accounting in Australian homes focussed on maintaining records of routine transactions as opposed to the preparation of budgets and financial statements. Household accounting in Australia was performed by women and men. The surviving records examined suggest that while areas of financial responsibility were defined by gender there was little evidence of formalised hierarchical accountability between spouses as has been found to be the case in Britain. Originality/value - The study extends knowledge of household accounting and gender. Most historical investigations on this subject draw on instructional literature. The current investigation also examines accounting practice in the home. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005179

How company and managerial characteristics influence strategic alliance adoption in the travel sector

  • Authors: Pansiri, Jaloni
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Tourism Research Vol. 9, no. 4 (2007), p. 243-255
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  • Description: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of company and executive characteristics in strategic alliance formation in the tourism sector of travel. A survey of Australian travel sector businesses was carried out and the results indicate a high level of interaction through alliances between various sectors of the Australian tourism industry. Top managers' characteristics (experience, ownership and risk-taking attitude) were found to be influential in taking strategic decisions of whether to form alliances or not. These characteristics do not play an important role in determining the number of alliances an organisation has and their geographical location, as much as company characteristics do. The findings of this paper imply that company characteristics are important in determining alliance formation. Managers should thoroughly consider these characteristics when deciding not only to form alliances, but also the types of alliances that could help their organisations to be more competitive, given limited resources. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005188

How important is the role of the chancellor in the appointment of Australian vice-chancellors and university governance?

  • Authors: O'Meara, Bernard , Petzall, Stanley
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Educational Management Vol. 21, no. 3 (2007), p. 213-231
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  • Description: Purpose - This paper seeks to investigate the role of the university chancellor in the appointment of Australian vice-chancellors. Design/methodology/approach - Prior to this research it was evident that little research had been undertaken on the role of the chancellor. While the chancellor chairs Council, the incumbent also presides over quite a complex selection process, including chairing the selection Panel, when the need to appoint a new VC arises. Research into the recruitment and selection practices used to appoint vice-chancellors in Australia, undertaken as part of a PhD, yielded a wide range of useful material. The research also exposed some unexpected surprises, one of which was the role of the chancellor in the appointment process. Findings - The chancellor not only appeared to lead these processes, as would be expected, but was viewed as the key, if not sole, person who determined the successful candidate. It was found that the relationship between the chancellor and vice-chancellor was crucial and this was evident both in determining successful candidates and the decision for incumbents to seek a role elsewhere. However, in almost all cases the chancellor made the final decision when appointing a new VC. In some cases it appeared that selection panels considered their role as being simply to assist the chancellor to make a decision. This contrasted with the expectation that the panel as a whole would make a decision and recommend it to Council. Originality/value - Thus understanding the role of the chancellor is important when considering university governance and VC succession. This paper provides the findings of the research highlighting the significance of the chancellor's role in the context of appointing a new VC. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005164

Old dogs, new shed tricks : An exploration of innovative, workshop-based learning practice in Australia

  • Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: Paper presented at AVETRA 2007 Conference, Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria: 11th-13th April 2007
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  • Description: Our paper explores some recent innovations in workshop-based learning practice that come out of community-based men's sheds in Australia. It deliberately goes beyond an exploration of the typical community-based men's shed, already explored in our recent NCVER research report and looks at some new and productive interactions between sheds and other informal learning organisations. We go to the margins of rapidly evolving shed practice and single out three types of shed-based organisations that work with school resisters, Vietnam Veterans and older men in aged care. Our aim is to illustrate, using new Australian narrative data, some theoretical and practical implications and benefits of reciprocal, workshop-based mentoring relationships involving men of different ages. Our focus is on ways in which men with a skill or trade are able, in a situated and authentic learning context, to informally weave magic for and with other men, and in some cases with young people. Our paper provides pointers to some of the principles underpinning successful informal and community-based learning practice for older men: particularly the need for a high level of engagement; the choice of an appropriate and safe setting; and to account for the differences associated with age and gender. We articulate an imperative for bringing more blokes into all forms of learning in Australia including through more informal, community-based learning as well as through adult and community education. Our paper and its conclusions have implications for other workshop and shed-based learning practice in vocational education and training as well as informal and community-based learning by volunteers in the quintessential and ubiquitous Australian fire and football sheds.
  • Description: 2003005537

Older men's lifelong learning : Common threads/sheds

  • Authors: Golding, Barry
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: Paper presented at CRLL 4th International Conference: The times they are a-changin': Researching transitions in life long learning, University of Stirling, Scotland : 22nd-24th June 2007
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  • Description: This paper is based primarily on a suite of completed research in Australia into informal learning by older men in community contexts. Based on extensive survey and interviews, this suite forms part of the first prong of a proposed, new international comparative study of older men's(defined as over 45 years) informal learning across countries and cultures. The research into older men's lifelong learning was originally motivated by knowledge of the relatively low proportion of older men involved in adult and community education (ACE) settings in Australia. It was widely believed that older men were not interested and therefore not involved in learning. A number of research projects since 2002 in rural and remote Australian communities sought to look beyond what are conventionally regarded as education providers and closely examine whether and what learning takes place informally by older men who participate in community-based organisations. The research began with studies of men's learning in volunteer rural fire brigades, football and senior citizens clubs, land care as well as adult and community education providers. It led to as study of the learning role and function of rural fire brigades and emergency service organisations in small and remote towns across Australia. The research has most recently focussed on informal learning through men's sheds in community contexts. These workshops specifically for older men have recently sprung up and proliferated across much of southern Australia. What has emerged from the research is a picture of older men with a strong desire to socialise and learn, particularly with other men, in productive, informal contexts, wherever possible outside. Older men's experiences of learning as well as their lives generally have often been adversely affected over a lifetime by negative experiences of formal learning, starting with school. This paper takes what has been learnt from this suite of studies, pulls together some of the common threads, and places the findings against what is known from the wider international research literature about older men's learning. These include an examination of common motivations for older men to learn, common barriers, preferred pedagogies as well as some common valued outcomes. It seeks to determine whether what has been found from this research in Australian community contexts is similar to or different in what has been found other countries and cultural settings. Part of the paper includes consideration of issues associated with men's identities as they age as well as gender issues associated with learning. It also critically examines the role and legitimacy of creating learning spaces and organisations for men and older men in particular.
  • Description: 2003007969
  • Description: 2003005534

Risk management and derivatives use in Australian Firms

  • Authors: Batten, Jonathan A. , Hettihewa, Samanthala
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Asia Business Studies Vol. 1, no. 2 (2007), p. 37-44
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  • Description: Country-specific information on risk management is increasingly important, not only for investors and decision makers in international markets but also, for those in national and regional markets. This study reports the results of a cross-sectional survey of risk management practice and derivatives use by a sample of Australian firms. Overall, the results suggest that firm-specific factors appear to have some influence on risk management practice with the industry of the respondent being the most important, while the degree of international exposure has the least. Larger and more internationally exposed firms are likely to have more frequent reporting of derivatives use, and are more likely to use swaps and options to manage risks than other types of firms. Issues and implications for international firms are discussed
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003007177

Shedding some new light on gender : Evidence about men's informal learning preferences from Australian men's sheds in community contexts

Stock market predictions based on quantified intermarket influences

  • Authors: Tilakaratne, Chandima
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
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  • Description: This research investigated the feasibility and capability of neural network-based approaches for predicting the direction of the Australian Stock market index (the target market). It includes several aspects: univariate feature selection from the historical time series of the target market, inter-market analysis for finding the most relevant influential markets, investigations of the effect of time cycles on the target market and the discovery of the optimal neural network architectures. Previous research on US stock markets and other international markets have shown that the neural network approach is one of most powerful techniques for predicting stock market behaviour. Neural networks are capable of capturing the non-linear stochastic and chaotic patterns in the stock market time series data. This study discovered that the relative return series of the Open, High, Low and Close prices of the target market, show 6-day cycles during the studied period of about 14 years. Multi-layer feedforward neural networks trained with a backpropagation algorithm were used for the experiments. Two major testing methods: testing with randomly selected test data and forward testing, were examined and compared. The best neural network developed in this study has achieved 87%, 81% 83% and 81% accuracy respectively in predicting the next-day direction of the relative return of the Open, High, Low and Close prices of the target market. The architecture of this network consists of 33 input features, one hidden layer with 3 neurons and 4 output neurons. The best input features set includes the relative returns from 1 to 6 days in the past of the Open, High, Low and Close prices of the target market, the day of the week, and the previous day’s relative return of the Close prices of the US S&P 500 Index, US Dow Jones Industrial Average Index, US Gold/Silver Index, and the US Oil Index.
  • Description: Doctor of Philosophy

Student perceptions of podcasting to enhance learning and teaching in an information systems course

  • Authors: Miller, Charlynn , Newnham, Leon
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Conference paper
  • Relation: Paper presented at 14th International Conference ALT-C 2007: Beyond Control. Learning Technology for the social network generation, Nottingham University EMCC, Nottingham, England, UK : 4th-6th September 2007 p. 104-115
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  • Description: Universities are challenged to seek methods to improve student learning. Leading edge technologies, such as podcasts, that put the focus on learner-chosen activities may be one way to accomplish this. This study explored student perceptions of podcasting as a learning and teaching tool in a first semester information systems course within an Australian university. Students were provided with a short podcast to supplement face-to-face lectures. Students were then surveyed to determine their perceptions of the impact of this podcast on their learning. A high number of respondents agreed that they used the podcast, that it increased their understanding of the lecture material and that it assisted their learning in the unit overall. The findings in this preliminary study lend support to the concept that podcasting can enhance learning when used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods.
  • Description: 2003002687

The abode of malevolent spirits and creatures - Caves in Victorian Aboriginal social organization

  • Authors: Clark, Ian
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Helictite Vol. 40, no. 1 (2007), p. 3-10
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  • Description: A study of Aboriginal associations with Victorian caves finds that there is a rich cultural heritage associated with caves. This association has been found to be rich and varied in which caves and sink holes featured prominently in the lives of Aboriginal people - they were often the abodes of malevolent creatures and spirits and some were associated with important ancestral heroes, traditional harming practices, and some were important in the after death movement of souls to their resting places. Aboriginal names for caves, where known, are discussed.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005213

The association of depression and sense of belonging with suicidal ideation among older adults : Applicability of resiliency models

  • Authors: McLaren, Suzanne , Gomez, Rapson , Bailey, Maria , Vanderhorst, Renee
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior Vol. 37, no. 1 (2007), p. 89-102
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  • Description: Suicide among older people, especially men, is a significant problem. In this study the applicability of the compensatory, the risk-protective, the challenge, and the protective-protective models of resiliency for the prediction of suicidal ideation from depression (the risk factor) and sense of belonging to the community (the protective factor) was investigated. A total of 351 retired Australians (130 males and 221 females), with a mean age of 71.31 years (SD = 7.99), completed the Zung Depression Scale, the suicide subscale of the General Health Questionnaire, and the Sense of Belonging Instrument. When sense of belonging (psychological) was the protective factor, results indicated support for the risk-protective model for men and women, and for the compensatory model for women only. In contrast, when sense of belonging (antecedents) was the protective factor, support was evident for the compensatory model for men and women, and for the challenge model for women only. Results indicate that interventions should be developed to enhance sense of belonging among aging adults. © 2007 The American Association of Suicidology.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003005765

The dynamics of innovation and investment, with application to Australia, 1984-1998

  • Authors: Courvisanos, Jerry
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Empirical Post Keynesian Economics: Looking at the Real World Chapter 11 p. 141-177
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  • Description: Since the origins of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, innovation and investment have been crucial to capitalism and economic development. This chapter sets up a link between innovation and investment in historical time, without reference to any static equilibrium. In this manner, the relationship between the instability of cycles and growth trends can be identified. Australian data is then used to identify important linkages between these two crucial elements.
  • Description: B1
  • Description: 2003005228

The international potential for men's shed-based learning

  • Authors: Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette , Brown, Michael
  • Date: 2007
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Ad-lib: Journal for Continuing Liberal Adult Education Vol. 34, no. (2007), p. 9-13
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  • Description: This paper uses new data from research into informal learning through community-based 'men's sheds' organisations, that have proliferated rapidly and recently across much of southern Australia, to ask 'What is the potential for shed-based community learning in other countries?' It is based on a continuing suite of Australian research into informal learning occurring in community contexts for men, particularly research into men not in paid work.