Digital Commons Network^™

Why Do Patients Having Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts Have Different Costs Or Length Of Stay? An Analysis Across 10 European Countries, James Gaughan, Conrad Kobel, Caroline Linhart, Anne Mason, Andrew Street, Padraic Ward

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

We analyse variations in cost or length of stay (LoS) for 66 587 patients from 10 European countries receiving a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure. In five of these countries, variations in cost are analysed using log-linear models. In the other five countries, negative binomial regression models are used to explore variations in LoS. We compare how well each country's diagnosis-related group (DRG) system and a set of patient-level characteristics explain these variations. The most important explanatory factors are the total number of diagnoses and procedures, although no clear effects are evident for our CABG-specific diagnostic and procedural variables. …

Experiences Of Dental Care: What Do Patients Value?, Alexandra Sbaraini, Stacy M. Carter, R Wendell Evans, Anthony Blinkhorn

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background Dentistry in Australia combines business and health care service, that is, the majority of patients pay money for tangible dental procedures such as fluoride applications, dental radiographs, dental fillings, crowns, and dentures among others. There is evidence that patients question dentists' behaviours and attitudes during a dental visit when those highly technical procedures are performed. However, little is known about how patients' experience dental care as a whole. This paper illustrates the findings from a qualitative study recently undertaken in general dental practice in Australia. It focuses on patients' experiences of dental care, particularly on the relationship between patients …

Which World, And Why Do We Worry About It?, Paul Sharrad

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

The paper looks at various meanings of ‘World Literature’ (widely read books; great works of transcultural influence; a disciplinary structure and practice), assessing Australia’s place in each and what might underlie a wish to belong to any.

In particular, it locates the last focus of scholarly discussion in French and US sites and the drive to reform Comparative Literature studies, examining possible factors leading Australian universities to engage with such debates and possible effects on local practice.

The paper notes how Postcolonial literary studies called for this kind of reform of comparative literature and pushed towards a ‘world literature’ under …

How And Why Do Managers Use Coaching Skills?, Grace Mccarthy, Julia Ahrens

Sydney Business School - Papers

While the evidence base for coaching has been increasing rapidly in the past decade, relatively little is known about how managers coach, what approaches they use, the purposes for which they use coaching and the benefits they experience. This paper provides a brief overview of the coaching literature in relation to the managerial context, outlines the method used in the research reported here, summarises the findings of a survey conducted among Australian managers in March 2012 to explore the above questions, draws conclusions and makes recommendations for further research. Whilst a coaching approach might be initially challenging and time-consuming to …

Adding Bricks To Clicks: When Do Offline Channel Attributes Influence Consumers' Intentions To Shop Online?, Yuanfeng Cai, Kathy Ning Shen, Zhaoyang Guo

University of Wollongong in Dubai - Papers

Given the fierce competitive environment to date, there is an increasing trend of introducing new channel(s) to complement their existing one by retailers. A recent phenomenon is that purely online retailers are extending their offline outlets. How online consumers react to such channel extension? More specifically, does the offline channel visit only influence offline channel patronage? In addressing this question, in present study, we propose and empirically test a framework for explaining the relationships between offline channel attributes and online consumers' intentions to shop in both channels. The results reveal that while cognitive offline channel attributes have a direct and …

What Do Australian Consumers Think About Current Advertising Standards?, Sandra Carol Jones, Katherine Eagleton

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The concept of community standards is the cornerstone of advertising self-regulation in Australia. However, there is a dearth of research on current attitudes towards advertising and a virtual absence of such data in an Australian context. A questionnaire was developed to assess consumer attitudes towards advertising; respondents were 872 adults residing in New South Wales. We found high levels of concern regarding advertising standards in general and a consistent perception that advertising should not, for example, use coarse language or violent images, portray women or men as sex objects or show nudity, stereotype or make fun of groups of people, …

What I Say Isn't Always What I Do: Investigating Differences In Children's Reported And Actual Snack Food Preferences, Sandra C. Jones, Lisa Kervin, Samantha Reis, Parri Gregory

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The current study sought to explore discrepancies between children's stated snack food motivations and actual food choices, using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a measure of implicit attitudes towards 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods. Participants were children aged 6-12 years (n=118), from two primary schools on the South Coast of NSW, Australia - a public school in a semi-rural suburb south of a sea-side city and a public school in a largely residential northern suburb of the same city. The children completed a questionnaire about motivations for snack choices, participated in an activity, completed two further questionnaires, selected snack foods …

Do Neighbourhoods Have Effects On Wages? A Study Of Migrant Workers In Urban China, Zhiming Cheng, Haining Wang

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Rural-to-urban migrant workers have contributed enormously to the Chinese economy and society in the past three decades. Many of them have concentrated in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and physically and socially suffered from poor residential environment. However it is unclear how the neighbourhoods-as the provision of shelter, social and public service, and community organizing-influence migrant workers' labour market outcomes. To fill this gap, this paper researches the way in which urban neighbourhoods have affected migrant workers' wages. Factors such as housing quality, social interaction and trust, and neighbourhood organization and participation were examined. Results show that five of eight neighbourhood characteristics had …

Why Do Girls Sustain More Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Than Boys? A Review Of The Changes In Oestrogen And Musculoskeletal Structure And Function During Puberty, Catherine Y. Wild, Julie R. Steele, Bridget J. Munro

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Sport is the leading cause of injury among adolescents and girls incur more non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures than boys, with this gender disparity in injury incidence apparent from the onset of puberty. Although the mechanisms for this gender disparity in ACL injuries are relatively unknown, hormonal, anatomical and biomechanical factors have been implicated. Puberty is associated with rapid skeletal growth and hormonal influx, both of which are thought to contribute to alterations in ACL metabolic and mechanical properties, as well as changes in lower limb strength and flexibility, ultimately influencing landing technique. Therefore, the aim of this review …