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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Comparative Critique Of The Performance Evaluation Methods In The Australian Energy Industry, Feng Li, George M. Mickhail
Comparative Critique Of The Performance Evaluation Methods In The Australian Energy Industry, Feng Li, George M. Mickhail
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of business evaluation methods in the Australian energy industry during the periods from 1989 to 2007. The six commonly used business evaluation methods (CAPM, WACC, EVA, P/E ratio, DCF and MetaCapitalism) were selected and compared with the share price in the whole market, listed market and delisted market, to explore which valuation methods were better for evaluating business performance in the Australian energy sector over the long-term. An empirical analysis using linear regression, we find evidence that CAPM is a much better method for listed companies to measure the rate …
The Iron Cage Of The Profession: A Critique On Closure In The Australian Accounting Profession, Ronald W. Perrin, Gregory K. Laing
The Iron Cage Of The Profession: A Critique On Closure In The Australian Accounting Profession, Ronald W. Perrin, Gregory K. Laing
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the process of closure that occurs within the constructs of professions. The discussion in this paper focuses on the professional accounting bodies in Australia and how they have devolved a form of bureaucratic control over the education process through the credentialing of membership and accreditation of accounting degrees. Weber's theory of bureaucracy in conjunction with Closure theory provide the framework upon which this critique is drawn. Implicit in the regulatory role of the accounting bodies is the justification of the practice of accounting and the status of the members of the …
Voluntary Relocation - An Exploration Of Australian Attitudes In The Context Of Drought, Recycled And Desalinated Water, Anna Hurlimann, Sara Dolnicar
Voluntary Relocation - An Exploration Of Australian Attitudes In The Context Of Drought, Recycled And Desalinated Water, Anna Hurlimann, Sara Dolnicar
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Throughout history settlements have been abandoned due to lack of water. Such a fate is of concern to public officials in settlements facing water scarcity – a condition which is anticipated to increase due to the impacts of climate change, and other factors including increasing per capita water use, and population growth. Key questions surround how to best adapt to these circumstances. A strategy little explored is relocation. This paper presents results from a qualitative study conducted in eight geographically diverse Australian locations. The willingness of individuals to relocate under three hypothetical water scenarios was investigated: (1) if the water …
Inter-Firm Collaboration In Australian Telecom Market, Aimee Zhang, Charles Harvie
Inter-Firm Collaboration In Australian Telecom Market, Aimee Zhang, Charles Harvie
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The Australian telecommunications market is a typical mature market in a developed country. This paper gives an overview of the Australian telecommunication market’s development, industry structure, major components and contributions, major firms, key government agencies and organizations in this market. The history and development process of the Australian telecommunications market is, like most telecom markets in the world, one from monopoly to limited competition, from state ownership to market driven and from closed to open. To study inter-firm collaboration types, benefits, and barriers, a qualitative interview was conducted to collect real industry data from different sectors. Face-to-face interviews were adopted …
The Mechanics Of Ecollaboration And Why It Works- An Empirical Assessment Of Australian Smes, Lois Burgess, Michael L. Jones
The Mechanics Of Ecollaboration And Why It Works- An Empirical Assessment Of Australian Smes, Lois Burgess, Michael L. Jones
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper investigates factors conducive to the development of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) innovation in the context of the adoption and use of electronic collaboration technologies (eCollaboration), to enhance business growth, competitiveness and future economic viability. A change from competition to collaboration is an imperative for many firms today. The current economic climate is one reason why firms should work together, but more driving than this are the ubiquitous effects of globalisation. Australian firms are facing fierce competition from many overseas nations which have the advantage of cost effective labour. Businesses must transcend from attitudes of competing to attitudes …
Minding The Gap(S) In Australian Spectrum Law, Benoit P. Freyens
Minding The Gap(S) In Australian Spectrum Law, Benoit P. Freyens
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Achieving efficient spectrum management in the pursuit of the public interest was a key aspect of the legislative reforms enacted through the Radiocommunications Act 1992. However, the Act is unclear about the precise nature of the efficiencies to achieve and choices between different efficiency objectives are often dictated by the nature of the services, bands and market considered. This article argues that efficient spectrum policy can be furthered by crafting additional licensing regimes or expanding the possibilities of existing regimes. Despite successes in moving towards this goal, some legal rules still feed a pool of ‘licensing gaps’ that detract from …
Mean Reversion And Structural Breaks In The Australian Dollar Real Exchange Rate, Muhammad K. Chowdhury
Mean Reversion And Structural Breaks In The Australian Dollar Real Exchange Rate, Muhammad K. Chowdhury
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper examines mean reversion in the real exchange rate index of Australia in the presence of structural breaks from 1984:1 till 2009:2. Conventional unit-root procedures have low power when structural breaks in data are ignored. The null hypothesis is examined using a minimum Lagrange Multiplier unit-root test that allows for breaks in level and trend. This unit-root test with two structural breaks is invariant to the magnitude of the breaks. We were able to reject the unit-root null hypothesis and find evidence of mean reversion and hence PPP with structural break points. This is a startling finding reversing results …
Drinking Water From Alternative Water Sources: Differences In Beliefs, Social Norms And Factors Of Perceived Behavioural Control Across Eight Australian Locations, Sara Dolnicar, Anna Hurlimann
Drinking Water From Alternative Water Sources: Differences In Beliefs, Social Norms And Factors Of Perceived Behavioural Control Across Eight Australian Locations, Sara Dolnicar, Anna Hurlimann
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Australia is facing serious challenges in the management of water in various urban and regional locations. Two popular responses to these challenges are increasing supply through alternative water sources such as recycled and desalinated water. However, significant gaps exist in our knowledge of community attitudes to these alternative sources of water, particularly for potable use. This paper reports results from an Australian study of community attitudes to alternative water sources. Sixty six qualitative interviews were held at eight locations with distinctly different water situations. This paper explores all three antecedents to the behaviour of drinking recycled water and desalinated water …
Understanding The Australian Environmental Volunteering Market: A Basis For Behavioural Change And A Sustainable Future, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Understanding The Australian Environmental Volunteering Market: A Basis For Behavioural Change And A Sustainable Future, Melanie J. Randle, Sara Dolnicar
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The world is facing an environmental crisis. Long-term environmental sustainability requires social change: individuals need to take personal responsibility for the environment and change their behaviour. Environmental volunteering organisations play a key role in this process: they create opportunities for individuals to improve their natural environment, they facilitate behavioural change. Successful facilitation of behavioural change requires in-depth understanding of the environmental volunteering market to identify those individuals most likely to volunteer, compete successfully and create targeted, motivating marketing campaigns. The present study (1) assesses the usefulness of a novel method (PBMS) to explore volunteering markets, and (2) provides insight into …
Discipline-Specific Forecasting Of Research Output In Australian Universities, Abbas Valadkhani, Simon Ville
Discipline-Specific Forecasting Of Research Output In Australian Universities, Abbas Valadkhani, Simon Ville
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This article presents a cross-sectional model for forecasting research output across the Australian university system. It builds upon an existing literature that focuses either on institutional comparisons or studies of specific subjects, by providing discipline-specific results across all of the 10 major disciplinary areas as defined by Australia's Department of Education, Science and Training. The model draws upon four (highly significant) discipline-specific explanatory variables; staff size, research expenditure, PhD completions and student-staff ratios to predict the output of refereed articles.
Can Australian Universities Take Measures To Increase The Lecture Attendance Of Marketing Students?, Sara Dolnicar, Sebastian Kaiser, Katrina Matus, Wilma Vialle
Can Australian Universities Take Measures To Increase The Lecture Attendance Of Marketing Students?, Sara Dolnicar, Sebastian Kaiser, Katrina Matus, Wilma Vialle
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Lectures are a central element of traditional university learning, but Australian lecturers increasingly face very low levels of lecture attendance. A significant amount of research exists that investigates the drivers of lecture attendance. However, those studies typically study single factors in an isolated manner, thus overestimating the importance of individual factors. This study contributes to the understanding of lecture attendance (and nonattendance) by including a range of factors that potentially affect lecture attendance simultaneously, thus accounting for possible interactions between factors and identifying the key drivers of lecture attendance. The study uses a survey among all students of an Australian …
Customer Orientation In An Australian Public Service Agency And Its Effect On Public Service Motives: Developing A Research Study, Christa Wood
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The Australian public service has experienced dramatic changes during the last few decades. One of the changes is the push for public servants to behave in accordance with private sector principles, such as customer service orientation. This paper is developing a research study that aims to analyse the motivational forces that enable (or disable) the behavioural changes of public servants and what impact (if any) those changes have on traditional public service motives. The study intends to use an extended expectancy-valence model together with a public service motive measurement scale to identify if there are relationships between motivational forces, customer …
Financing Growth: New Issues By Australian Firms, 1920-1939, David Merrett, Simon Ville
Financing Growth: New Issues By Australian Firms, 1920-1939, David Merrett, Simon Ville
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
An expanding economy, new technologies, and changing consumer preferences provided growth opportunities for firms in interwar Australia. This period saw an increase in the number of large-scale firms in mining, manufacturing, and a wide range of service industries. Firms unable to rely solely on retained earnings to fund expansion turned to the domestic stock exchanges. A new data set of capital raisings constructed from reports of prospectuses published in the financial press forms the basis for the conclusion that many firms used substantial injections of equity finance to augment internally generated sources of funds. That they were able to do …
Australian Commonwealth Public Sector Environmental Reporting In A New Public Managerialism Environment, Graham D. Bowrey
Australian Commonwealth Public Sector Environmental Reporting In A New Public Managerialism Environment, Graham D. Bowrey
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Purpose : The primary purpose of this paper is to argue that the adherence [and lack of] to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 reporting requirements by Australian Commonwealth organisations, including Commonwealth Agencies, Commonwealth Statutory Authorities and Commonwealth Companies, can be explained by the influence of the pervasive new public managerialism (NPM) mentality within the sector.Design/methodology/approach : The paper is based on a qualitative review of the environmental performance and management reporting for a sample of 26 material Commonwealth public sector organisations with specific reference to Section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Findings …
What Determines The Research Output Of Australian Universities?, Abbas Valadkhani, Simon Ville
What Determines The Research Output Of Australian Universities?, Abbas Valadkhani, Simon Ville
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper develops and estimates a cross-sectional model for forecasting research output across the Australian university system. It builds upon an existing literature that focuses either on institutional comparisons or studies of specific subjects, by providing discipline-specific results across all of the ten major disciplinary areas as defined by Australias Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The model draws upon four discipline-specific explanatory variables; staff size, research expenditure, PhD completions, and student-staff ratios to predict output of refereed articles. When compared with actual averaged output for 2000-2004, the results are highly statistically significant.
The Institutional Legacy And The Development Of An Australian National Innovation System, Simon Ville
The Institutional Legacy And The Development Of An Australian National Innovation System, Simon Ville
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Institutions are the rules of the game that help to shape the long-term historical development of societies. They mediate human interaction and can be more or less formal (or tangible) in nature ranging from systems of government to common modes of behaviour. Most formal institutions can be distinguished as economic, social, political or cultural in nature although such distinctions are more difficult to make for informal institutions. What is certain is the pervasive impact of all types of institutions on a country’s multifaceted development. Thus, economic performance may be shaped as much by a nation’s legal system as by its …
The Cyclical And Trend Behavour Of Australian Investment And Savings, Bruce Felmingham, Arusha V. Cooray
The Cyclical And Trend Behavour Of Australian Investment And Savings, Bruce Felmingham, Arusha V. Cooray
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
A spectral analysis of the Australian time series for the investment and savings ratios on monthly data over the period from September 1959 to December 2005 reveals that the major cyclical components of the savings and investment ratios cohere strongly. This suggests there is a medium to long term relationship between investment and savings. Further, the investment and saving ratios cohere strongly with the business cycle suggesting a procyclical pattern of investment and saving behaviour on Australian data. A subsequent long memory analysis reveals that the saving and investment ratios, the investment ratio and real GDP and the savings ratio …
The Effects Of Employment On Academic Performance Of Australian Accounting Students, Anura De Zoysa, Kathleen M. Rudkin
The Effects Of Employment On Academic Performance Of Australian Accounting Students, Anura De Zoysa, Kathleen M. Rudkin
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This study examines factors that impact students engaged in paid employment while studying in a tertiary accounting program in a regional Australian university. It examines the differences in experience of domestic and international students. No direct significant relationship was found between paid employment and academic performance for the overall study sample. There was a positive relationship found between paid employment and academic performance with respect to domestic students. However, in the case of international students a negative relationship between paid employment and academic performance was observed. A significant positive relationship between a shift work pattern of paid employment and academic …
The Road To Innovation: Experiences In The Australian Wine Industry, D. K. Aylward
The Road To Innovation: Experiences In The Australian Wine Industry, D. K. Aylward
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
No abstract provided.
Sources Of Price Discovery In The Australian Dollar Currency Market, Alex Frino, Elvis Jarnecic, Andrew S. Tan, Maxwell Stevenson
Sources Of Price Discovery In The Australian Dollar Currency Market, Alex Frino, Elvis Jarnecic, Andrew S. Tan, Maxwell Stevenson
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper examines the source of price discovery in the Australian Dollar currency market. The time-varying relationship between changes in quotes posted by cash market dealers and changes in currency futures quotes is estimated. The cash market quotations identifY the eleven dealers posting the quotes, as well as geographical location of the dealers (Australia or overseas). Reported results show that price discovery originates in the cash market in any trading period. Amongst CUlTency dealers, the results imply that local desks are price leaders during Australian trading hours. Though some foreign desks do contribute to price discovery during the European and …
Macroeconomic Risk Factors In Australian Commercial Real Estate, Listed Property Trust And Property Sector Stock Returns, Tracey West, Andrew C. Worthington
Macroeconomic Risk Factors In Australian Commercial Real Estate, Listed Property Trust And Property Sector Stock Returns, Tracey West, Andrew C. Worthington
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper employs a Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity in Mean (GARCH-M) model to consider the effect of macroeconomic factors on Australian property returns over the period 1985 to 2002. Three direct (office, retail and industrial property) and two indirect (listed property trust and property stock) returns are included in the analysis, along with market returns, short, medium and long-term interest rates, expected and unexpected inflation, construction activity and industrial employment and production. In general, the macroeconomic factors examined are found to be significant risk factors in Australian commercial property returns. However, the results also indicate that forecast accuracy in these …
Stochastic Price Modelling Of High Volatility, Mean-Reverting, Spike-Prone Commodities: The Australian Wholesale Electricity Market, Andrew C. Worthington, Helen Higgs
Stochastic Price Modelling Of High Volatility, Mean-Reverting, Spike-Prone Commodities: The Australian Wholesale Electricity Market, Andrew C. Worthington, Helen Higgs
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
It is commonly known that wholesale spot electricity markets exhibit high price volatility, strong mean-reversion and frequent extreme price spikes. This paper employs a basic stochastic model, a mean-reverting model and a regime-switching model to capture these features in the Australian national electricity market (NEM), comprising the interconnected markets of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Daily spot prices from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2004 are employed. The results show that the regimeswitching model outperforms the basic stochastic and mean-reverting models. Electricity prices are also found to exhibit stronger mean-reversion after a price spike than in …
Organisational Factors And Australian Ict Professionals' Views Of Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments, Keir Dyce, Mary Barrett
Organisational Factors And Australian Ict Professionals' Views Of Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments, Keir Dyce, Mary Barrett
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
No abstract provided.
Taking Care Of (E)-Business? Australian It Professionals' Views Of Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments, Keir Dyce, Mary Barrett
Taking Care Of (E)-Business? Australian It Professionals' Views Of Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments, Keir Dyce, Mary Barrett
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
M-commerce, a growing sub-category of E-business, allows business to be done 'anywhere, anytime'. However security of wireless devices remains problematic. It is unclear whether protocols to alleviate security problems, such as wireless vulnerability assessments (WNVAs), are being used or are effective. The paper reports on a survey-based study of Australian computer security professionals' use of and opinions about two types of WNVA: wireless monitoring and penetration testing. An initially surprising finding was how little both types are used, despite the ease with which wireless networks can be attacked and the fact that penetration testing is fairly well understood. In the …
Assessing Sme Innovation Within Different Cluster Models: Lessons From The Australian Wine Industry, David Aylward, John Glynn
Assessing Sme Innovation Within Different Cluster Models: Lessons From The Australian Wine Industry, David Aylward, John Glynn
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper assesses core innovation activity among SMEs within different levels of cluster development. The aim of the paper, using empirical data from the Australian wine industry, is to demonstrate that innovation levels and activity intensify as an industry cluster develops. By dividing wine clusters into ‘innovative’ (highly developed) and ‘organised’ (less developed) models, the paper uses selected core indicators of innovation activity to explore levels of integration within each model. This integration is examined in the context of Porter’s theory of ‘competitive advantage’, with implications for SMEs in particular, and lessons for industry clusters in general.
The Australian Dollar's Long Term Fluctuations And Trend: The Commodity Prices Cum Economic Cycles Hypothesis, Elias Sanidas
The Australian Dollar's Long Term Fluctuations And Trend: The Commodity Prices Cum Economic Cycles Hypothesis, Elias Sanidas
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
The Australian dollars exchange rate (mainly in relation to the American dollar) has received a considerable attention in research and several models have been proposed to explain its trend and fluctuations.
Managing Spoiled Identity Through Entrepreneurship: An Exploratory Study Of Australian Aboriginal Entrepreneurs, James Reveley, Simon Down
Managing Spoiled Identity Through Entrepreneurship: An Exploratory Study Of Australian Aboriginal Entrepreneurs, James Reveley, Simon Down
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This paper argues that spoiled identity, which results from stigmatization, is an important spur to engaging in entrepreneurial activity. The idea that some people become entrepreneurs in response to fragmentation or damage done to the self is not new. To date, however, this idea been addressed from the standpoint of depth psychology. This paper uses Goffman’s spoiled identity concept to shift the focus from psychological dysfunction to social and contextual dimensions of self-identity, understood sociologically. These issues are explored through the abbreviated life histories of two people, who regard themselves as Australian Aboriginal entrepreneurs. Each person dealt with the effects …
Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers
Ranking Australian Economics Departments By Research Productivity, Frank V. Neri, Joan R. Rodgers
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This study ranks Australian economics departments according to the average research productivity of their academic staff during 1996-2002. It also ranks departments according to the variability of research productivity among their members, the assumption being that, ceteris paribus, the less variable is productivity within a department, the better. Research productivity is found to be highly skewed within all departments. A few departments have high average research productivity because of just one or two highly productive members. However, in general, research productivity is more evenly distributed within those departments that have relatively high average research productivity than within departments with relatively …
Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark
Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
This article reflects on the way in which accounting-related thinking influenced one particular historical event: the process of deinstitutionalisation from mental hospitals in New South Wales. The article suggests that accounting (via economic rationalism and other allied philosophical lenses ) led to the under funding of the deinstitutionalisation process to the detriment of society as a whole. Some of the societal difficulties inherent in using such rationalist calculus (biased towards quantified, monetary, accounting entity assumptions) as a means of evaluating social policies are then considered.
Internet Purchase Behaviour Of Australian Internet Shoppers, Julie E. Francis
Internet Purchase Behaviour Of Australian Internet Shoppers, Julie E. Francis
Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)
Just as Internet retailing is a relatively new and rapidly changing marketing activity, Internet shoppers form a relatively new consumer group that is evolving as the early adopters are increasingly joined by members of the broader market. In addition to the composition of this group changing, tracking the fundamental behaviours of Internet shoppers may be hampered by differences in research reporting methods and the costs associated with identifying genuine Internet shoppers for research purposes. Accordingly, this paper describes an Internet survey in which the behaviour of 1283 Australian Internet shoppers was examined. The frequency with which participants purchased products online …