Are we keeping the bastards honest? Perceptions of corruption, integrity and influence on politics

The words of the late Don Chipp, the founder of the Australian Democrats, have a perennial relevance to politics. When Chipp talked about ‘keeping the bastards honest’, it related to a minor political party playing a role of keeping the major political parties true to their word (Warhurst 1997). Yet it is also a democratic role that citizens play on an ongoing basis, particularly through the mechanism of elections. At the ballot box, governments that are widely perceived to have acted with a lack of integrity are roundly punished. This chapter explores public opinion on issues of integrity, corruption, influence and trust in politics and politicians in Australia. The evidence paints a differentiated picture of a public which sees little sign of overtly corrupt political practices but on the other hand does not feel terribly influential and is not always confident of fair treatment from public officials...

Paramedics' perceptions of their role in palliative care : analysis of focus group transcripts

Paramedics play an important role in out-of-hospital health care. They provide unscheduled care, assisting both patients with minor injuries and those experiencing life-threatening emergencies. Increasingly, paramedics are called on to manage chronic and complex health needs, including symptom relief for patients at the end of life. However, paramedics may not be well prepared to offer palliative care, as practice guidelines and education tend to focus on the management of acute medical emergencies and major trauma. Emergency medical services that employ paramedics rarely have practice guidelines or protocols that deal specifically with palliative care.

Perceptions of visitor relationship marketing opportunities by destination marketers : an importance-performance analysis

Customer relationship marketing (CRM) initiatives are increasingly being adopted by businesses in the attempt to enhance brand loyalty and stimulate repeat purchases. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which destination marketing organisations (DMOs) around the world have developed a visitor relationship marketing (VRM) orientation. The proposition underpinning the study is that maintaining meaningful dialogue with previous visitors in some markets would represent a more efficient use of resources than above the line advertising to attract new visitors. Importance-performance analysis was utilised to measure destination marketers’ perceptions of the efficacy of CRM initiatives, and then rate their own organisation’s performance across the same range of initiatives. A key finding was that mean importance was higher than perceived performance for every item. While the small sample limits generalisability, in general there are appears to be a lack of strategic intent by DMOs to invest in VRM.

‘Hot chicks’, ‘better parties’ or academic stuff : perceptions of a regional university campus using Repertory Grid Analysis and Importance-performance Analysis

In the increasingly competitive Australian tertiary education market, a consumer orientation is essential. This is particularly so for small regional campuses competing with larger universities in the state capitals. Campus management need to carefully monitor both the perceptions of prospective students within the catchment area, and the (dis)satisfaction levels of current students. This study reports the results of an exploratory investigation into the perceptions held of a regional campus, using two techniques that have arguably been underutilised in the education marketing literature. Repertory Grid Analysis, a technique developed almost fifty years ago, was used to identify attributes deemed salient to year 12 high school students at the time they were applying for university places. Importance-performance analysis (IPA), developed three decades ago, was then used to identify attributes that were determinant for a new cohort of first year undergraduate students. The paper concludes that group applications of Repertory Grid offer education market researchers a useful means for identifying attributes used by high school students to differentiate universities, and that IPA is a useful technique for guiding promotional decision making. In this case, the two techniques provided a quick, economical and effective snapshot of market perceptions, which can be used as a foundation for the development of an ongoing market research programme.

Dimensions of short break destination attractiveness : a comparison of cognitive, affective and conative perceptions

Although there has been exponential growth in the number of studies of destination image appearing in the tourism literature, few have addressed the role of affective perceptions. This paper analyses the market positions held by a competitive set of destinations, through a comparison of cognitive, affective and conative perceptions. Cognitive perceptions were measured by trialling a factor analytic adaptation of importance-performance analysis. Affective perceptions were measured using an affective response grid. The alignment of the results from these techniques identified leadership positions held by two quite different destinations on two quite different dimensions of short break destination attractiveness.

Perceptions of corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices from accountants in Bangladesh

Purpose – The aim of this study is to elicit accountants’ perceptions regarding corporate social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in a developing country such as Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) were surveyed to determine their perceptions on issues pertaining to social and environmental accounting and reporting practices in Bangladesh. Findings – Whilst the findings show that accountants have positive attitudes toward corporate social and environmental accounting, progress is limited, with the absence of ICAB in making any noticeable effort to develop such practices. Research implications – Unlike prior studies, the implications of this study suggest that without international influence, it is less likely that institutional forces in Bangladesh (ICAB and the government) would be effective in dealing with social and environmental accounting and reporting issues. Originality/value – While prior studies advocate proactive roles of the accounting profession, this study argues that proactive roles are less likely to prevail in the context of Bangladesh without direct intervention from institutional and regulatory authorities in the international arena.

Teachers’ perceptions of school connectedness and risk-taking in adolescence

School connectedness has been shown to be an important protective factor in adolescent development, which is associated with reduced risk-taking behaviour. Interventions to increase students’ connectedness to school commonly incorporate aspects of teacher training. To date, however, research on connectedness has largely been based on student survey data, with no reported research addressing teachers’ perceptions of students’ connectedness and its association with student behavior. This research attempted to address this gap in the literature through in depth interviews with 14 school teachers and staff from two Australian high schools. Findings showed that teachers perceived students’ connectedness to be important in regards to reducing problem behavior, and discussed aspects of connectedness, including fairness and discipline, feeling valued, belonging and having teacher support, and being successfully engaged in school, as being particularly important. This research enables the development of school-based intervention programs that are based on both student and teacher-focused research.

An exploratory study of associations between Australian-Indian mothers’ use of controlling feeding practices, concerns and perceptions of children’s weight and children’s picky eating

Aim This cross-sectional study explores associations between migrant Indian mothers’ use of controlling feeding practices (pressure to eat, restriction and monitoring) and their concerns and perceptions regarding their children’s weight and picky eating behaviour. Methods Two hundred and thirty mothers with children aged 1-5 years, residing in Australia for 1-8 years, participated by completing a self-reported questionnaire. Results Perceptions and concerns regarding children’s weight were not associated with any of the controlling feeding practices. A positive association was noted between pressure feeding and perceptions of pickiness after adjusting for covariates: children’s age, gender and weight-for-age Z-score. Girls, older children, and children with higher weight-for-age z scores were pressure fed to a greater extent. Conclusions This study supports the generalisation of findings from Caucasian literature that pressure feeding and perceptions of pickiness are positively related.

Reducing alcohol-related driving on China's roads : Traffic police officers' perceptions and practice

Alcohol-related driving is a longstanding, serious problem in China (Li, Xie, Nie, & Zhang, 2012). On 1st May, 2011 a national law was introduced to criminalize drunk driving, and imposed serious penalties including jail for driving with a blood alcohol level of above 80mg/100ml. This pilot study, undertaken a year after introduction of the law, sought traffic police officers’ perceptions of drink driving and the practice of breath alcohol testing (BAT) in a large city in Guangdong Province, southern China. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were used to gain an in-depth understanding of issues relevant to alcohol-related driving. Fifty-five traffic police officers were recruited for the survey and six traffic police officers with a variety of working experience including roadside alcohol breath testing, traffic crash investigation and police resourcing were interviewed individually. The officers were recruited by the first author with the assistance of the staff from Guangdong Institute of Public Health, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interview participants reported three primary reasons why people drink and drive: 1) being prepared to take the chance of not being apprehended by police; 2) the strong traditional Chinese drinking culture; and 3) insufficient public awareness about the harmfulness of drink driving. Problems associated with the process of breath alcohol testing (BAT) were described and fit broadly into two categories: resourcing and avoiding detection. It was reported that there were insufficient traffic police officers to conduct routine traffic policing, including alcohol testing. Police BAT equipment was considered sufficient for routine traffic situations but not highway traffic operations. Local media and posters are used by the Public Security Bureau which is responsible for education about safe driving but participants thought that the education campaigns are limited in scope. Participants also described detection avoidance strategies used by drivers including: changing route; ignoring a police instruction to stop; staying inside the vehicle with windows and doors locked to avoid being tested; intentionally not performing breath tests correctly; and arguing with officers. This pilot study provided important insights from traffic police in one Chinese city which suggest there may be potential unintended effects of introducing more severe penalties including a range of strategies reportedly used by drivers to avoid detection. Recommendations for future research include a larger study to confirm these findings and examine the training and education of drivers; the focus and reach of publicity; and possible resource needs to support police enforcement.

Parent and adolescent perceptions of family functioning : a comparison of clinic and non-clinic families

In this paper two studies are reported which compare (a) the perceptions of family functioning held by clinic and non-clinic adolescents, and (b) the perceptions of family functioning held by adolescents and their mothers in clinic and non-clinic families. In Study 1, matched group of clinic and non-clinic adolescents were compared on their responses to a 30-item scale (ICPS) designed to measure three factors of family functioning: Intimacy (high vs. low), Parenting Style (democratic vs. controlled) and Conflict (high vs. low). Clinic and non-clinic adolescents were also compared on their responses to a multi-dimensional measure of adolescent self-concept. Although there was little difference between the two groups of adolescents in terms of their perceptions of family functioning, there were strong relationships between the self-concept variables and the family functioning variables. In Study 2, comparisons were made between the perceptions of family functioning held by mothers and adolescents for both clinical and non-clinic families. There were no differences between the two groups of adolescents in terms of their perceptions of family functioning, although there were clear differences between the two groups of mothers. In addition, clinic adolescents and their mothers did not differ in their perceptions of the family, whereas adolescents in the non-clinic group saw their families significantly as less intimate and more conflicted than did their mothers.

Riding a mile in their shoes : understanding Australian metropolitan rail passenger perceptions and experiences of crowdedness using mixed-methods research

Metrics such as passengers per square metre have been developed to define optimum or crowded rail passenger density. Whilst such metrics are important to operational procedures, service evaluation and reporting, they fail to fully capture and convey the ways in which passengers experience crowded situations. This paper reports findings from a two year study of rail passenger crowding in five Australian capital cities which involved a novel mixed-methodology including ethnography, focus groups and an online stated preference choice experiment. The resulting data address the following four fundamental research questions: 1) to what extent are Australian rail passengers concerned by crowding, 2) what conditions exacerbate feelings of crowdedness, 3) what conditions mitigate feelings of crowdedness, and 4) how can we usefully understand passengers’ experiences of crowdedness? It concludes with some observations on the significance and implications of these findings for customer service provision. The findings outlined in this paper demonstrate that the experience of crowdedness (including its tolerance) cannot be understood in isolation from other customer services issues such as interior design, quality of environment, safety and public health concerns. It is hypothesised that tolerance of crowding will increase alongside improvements to overall customer service. This was the first comprehensive study of crowding in the Australian rail industry.

I know, but I don’t care : how awareness of Queensland’s drug driving testing methods impact upon perceptions of deterrence and offending behaviours

An increasing body of research is highlighting the involvement of illicit drugs in many road fatalities. Deterrence theory has been a core conceptual framework underpinning traffic enforcement as well as interventions designed to reduce road fatalities. Essentially the effectiveness of deterrence-based approaches is predicated on perceptions of certainty, severity, and swiftness of apprehension. However, much less is known about how the awareness of legal sanctions can impact upon the effectiveness of deterrence mechanisms and whether promoting such detection methods can increase the deterrent effect. Nevertheless, the implicit assumption is that individuals aware of the legal sanctions will be more deterred. This study seeks to explore how awareness of the testing method impacts upon the effectiveness of deterrence-based interventions and intentions to drug drive again in the future. In total, 161 participants who reported drug driving in the previous six months took part in the current study. The results show that awareness of testing had a small effect upon increasing perceptions of the certainty of apprehension and severity of punishment. However, awareness was not a significant predictor of intentions to drug drive again in the future. Importantly, higher levels of drug use were a significant predictor of intentions to drug drive in the future. Whilst awareness does have a small effect on deterrence variables, the influence of levels of drug use seems to reduce any deterrent effect.

Hypercapitalism : language, new media and social perceptions of value

Using examples from contemporary policy and business discourses, and exemplary historical texts dealing with the notion of value, I put forward an argument as to why a critical scholarship that draws on media history, language analysis, philosophy and political economy is necessary to understand the dynamics of what is being called 'the global knowledge economy'. I argue that the social changes associated with new modes of value determination are closely associated with new media forms.

Support for patients with hepatitis C : An exploratory qualitative study of medical specialists’ perceptions

Objective: To explore the range of meanings about the role of support for patients with hepatitis C by examining medical specialists' perceptions. Method: The study employed a qualitative, open-ended interview design and was conducted in four major teaching hospitals in Adelaide, South Australia. Eight participants (three infectious disease physicians, four gastroenterologists, one hepatologist), selected through purposive sampling, were interviewed about general patient support, their role in support provision, the role of non-medical support and their reasons for not using support services. Results: Main themes included a focus on support as information provision and that patient education is best carried out by a medical specialist. The use of support services was defined as the patient's decision. Participants identified four key periods when patients would benefit from support; during diagnosis, failure to meet treatment criteria, during interferon treatment and following treatment failure. Conclusions: It was concluded that while barriers exist to the establishment of partnerships between specialists and other support services, this study has identified clear points at which future partnerships could be established. Implications: A partnership approach to developing support for patients with hepatitis C offers a systematic framework to facilitate the participation of health professionals and the community in an important area of public health.

Chinese teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) academics' perceptions about research in a transitional culture

Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study presents the perceptions about research of six Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics in a context of growing institutional demands for research. One-on-one interviews of 35-60 minutes' duration were conducted with these academics from an institution in north China. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated that the Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics held positive perceptions about the teaching-research nexus. However, the value of research to them seemed to be limited to teaching and career advancement. They also expressed varied concerns about the institutional research requirements. The findings suggested several implications for the institution's administrators to further enhance academics' research capacity building.