Understanding tourists' cultural experiences : benefits and satisfaction at the Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne

This empirical research of tourists’ cultural experiences aims to advance theory by analysing consumers’ benefits (sought and gained) and inferred satisfaction with the Queen Victoria Market. Produce markets are under-researched cultural attractions, despite their popularity with tourists. The current exploratory study found dimensions of importance to tourists’ cultural experience benefits (sought and gained) included socio-psychological, hedonic benefits and attribute specific, utilitarian benefits. It further found that tourists were most satisfied with the hedonic benefits, and least satisfied with the services, signs and written information. This study concludes that researching both types of benefits (sought and gained) and both types of dimensions (psychologically-based and attribute-based) increases understanding of tourists’ cultural experiences.

Health satisfaction and perceived control : investigating subjective wellbeing homeostasis

Through an investigation of relationships between subjective wellbeing, health satisfaction and perceived control, the thesis contributes to a greater understanding of the psychological adaptation processes of individuals experiencing back pain. Risk factors to subjective wellbeing are also identified, thus presenting opportunities to provide assistance before the onset of psychopathology.

Impact of learning environment and learning context on student satisfaction : a comparative study of postgraduate students from Asia

The growth of the international education market with increasing export income has created a highly competitive environment among education providers worldwide. WTO reports that this market is now worth around $27 billion a year (Alderman, 2001) while IDP Australia has estimated an increase in the number of students seeking higher education overseas at 7.2 million by 2025. This alludes to the attractiveness of the international education market in the form of both pecuniary and non pecuniary benefits to provider nations and the higher educational institutions and hence the need for strategies to maintain a globally competitive position. This paper looks at the impact of the learning environment and the learning context on student satisfaction among international postgraduate students from Asia studying in Australian universities. The growing competition requires provider institutions to be highly responsive to the needs and aspirations of the diverse student community and to deliver services to create satisfaction and loyalty, which would be critical in sustaining a competitive position. The study, based on the expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm, and a model of post choice satisfaction in the educational setting, uses logistic regression, MANOVA, ANOVA and chi square testing, investigates factors relevant to student learning environment and the learning context to assess satisfaction levels of these students. The sample size used in the study is 371 and is drawn from a mail survey of five leading universities in Australia.

The interactional effects of the internal and external university environment, and the influence of personal values, on satisfaction among international postgraduate students

The article investigates the interactional effects of internal and external university learning environments, and the influence of personal values, in the satisfaction formation process of international postgraduate students from Asia. Past research on student satisfaction has been narrowly focused on certain aspects of the university internal environment such as teaching, learning and support services. While acknowledging the impact of the internal learning environment on student satisfaction, the article argues that the external community environment, where students spend most of their academic life, has a much stronger influence on their satisfaction. It is also argued that students’ personal values have a mediating influence on the impact on student satisfaction of the internal and external learning environments. A sample of 411 international postgraduate business students from five Australian universities is used in the study. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data. Practical implications for universities are provided.

Body satisfaction among adolescents in eight different countries

The current study examined body satisfaction and the value of body size among adolescents in Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Tonga, Tongans in New Zealand, China, Chile and Greece. In total, 2489 adolescent females and 2152 males participated in the study. The results demonstrated that males were more satisfied with their body than females. Males generally had a lower BMI than females, except for males in China and Malaysia. Attitudes towards large bodies for males and females varied by cultural group. These results demonstrate the strong cultural similarities in body satisfaction, but the differences that occur in relation to a large body.

The impact of survey length, interactivity and participant involvement on intentions and satisfaction across multiple panels

This study examines how survey design characteristics impact on participant satisfaction, future intentions to complete surveys, and intention to recommend the survey to others, based on panel members, extracted from three different panels, who randomly received one out of eight developed surveys, varying length, involvement and interactivity. The experiment was designed for an Australian industry client. The multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA hereafter) results suggest that there are differences based on the panels used, and longer surveys are viewed more positively. Interaction occurs between panels and involvement, but other two way interaction effects are insignificant. Implications for survey design and future research are discussed.

Life satisfaction amongst police officers working in the area of child abuse investigation

Child abuse investigation is an area of work reported to be associated with high levels of work stress. This potentially places professionals at risk of psychological harm and may lead to lower life satisfaction than in the general population. The current study examined this issue within a large sample of Australian police officers. Specifically, 214 officers working in the area of child abuse investigation responded to a single global measure of life satisfaction (LS) known to be highly related to other measures of subjective wellbeing as well as clinical depression. The results revealed that, irrespective of the officers’ gender or degree of exposure to child abuse cases, the mean score from LS score was within the expected adult normative range. Further, the overall incidence of low LS in this sample (1.9 per cent) was not significantly different from the general population (4.3 per cent). The implications of these findings for police organisations are discussed.

User satisfaction in sustainable office buildings : a preliminary study

Energy efficiency was first mandated for commercial buildings in 2006 in Part J of The Building Code of Australia (BCA) and regulators are already implementing increased measures in 2010 (ABCB 2010). Further increases will follow as part of the co-ordinated effort to reduce building related greenhouse gas emissions. The introduction of the Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010 will establish a national scheme to promote the disclosure of information about the energy efficiency of office buildings as well as further highlighting the need for efficiency. Increased energy efficiency in the form of insulation, energy efficient light fittings, sophisticated Building Management Systems (BMS), micro-generation such as solar and wind turbines all result in measurable quantifiable reductions in operating costs for owners and tenants. However convincing all building owners about the sound business case for adopting sustainability measures has not been fully realised. To-date the adoption of cutting edge sustainable buildings in Australia is restricted to a few industry leaders, such as Investa and ISPT in Victoria for example. Sustainable building owners and tenants often benefit from reduced operating costs during the building lifecycle although the ‘intangible’ effect on businesses (e.g. employee productivity) is uncertain. This aspect has not been accurately quantified and has not been included as part of the measurement of sustainability in buildings.

This study will allow property stakeholders, including government policy-makers and investors/developers, to better understand the optimal type and level of sustainability to be incorporated into the built environment. In addition this knowledge will enable policymakers to make more informed decisions with regards to the likely impact of the legislative measures they propose in respect of sustainability and buildings in The Building Code of Australia (BCA) and other relevant legislation.

The role of personal values in enhancing student experience and satisfaction among international postgraduate students : an exploratory study

Problem Statement: Universities are faced with the challenging task of educating an increasingly diverse and mobile student community. An understanding of the backgrounds of students and their expectations is central to ensure effective delivery of educational and support services to enhance student experience and satisfaction. The study of student personal values is able to provide better understanding of student demands and aspirations and to assist universities to target educational and support services to meet the differential needs of students.

Purpose of Study: To examine the differences in personal values among Asian international postgraduate students studying in Australian universities and to discuss the strategic implications of these differences in relation to enhancing student experience and satisfaction.

Research Methods: Data collected from a sample of 371 postgraduate students from China, India, Indonesia and Thailand studying in five universities in Victoria, Australia. Personal values were measured using Kahle’s (1983) List Of Values (LOV). Factor analysis was undertaken to determine the underlying personal value domains and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyse the relationship of the value constructs to student satisfaction. ANOVA and MANOVA tests employed to examine the differences of personal values between the nationalities, gender and age.

Findings: Factor Analysis resulted in a two factor solution and labelled as Self-efficacy and Hedonism which explained 73.5 percent of the variance. MANOVA and ANOVA results indicated significant differences (.001) across the values constructs of Self-efficacy and Hedonism and the individual variables between nationalities, gender and age.

SEM results indicated a link between student satisfaction and the value domains of Self-efficacy and Hedonism.

Conclusions: The study highlighed the opportunities for universities to recognise that Asia is a differentiated market place and the development of segmented approach in designing educational programs as part of the strategy to enhance student experience and satisfaction. The inclusion of cultural aspects in educational programs, promotional material that fits in with different cultural backgrounds of students, self-paced learning approaches, promotion of cross cultural understanding among university staff are among the recommended strategies.

Occupant satisfaction of Star Rated Houses in Victoria, Australia

The Victorian government implemented legislation for all new houses to achieve a 6 star rating since May 2011. It is found that having a higher star rating would provide financial and environmental benefits, however the question remains- is this sufficient to satisfy the occupants living in such houses? Are the occupants actually satisfied with the amount of money they have invested in their home? This study investigates the level of satisfaction of occupants living in different star rated houses, and explores if there is a link between the star rating of the house and the satisfaction of the occupants living in such houses.