An Uber for apartments could solve some common housing problems

Speculative property developers, criticised for building dog boxes and the slums of tomorrow, are generally hated by urban planners and the public alike. But the doors of state governments are seemingly always open to developers and their lobbyists. Politicians find it hard to say no to the demands of the development industry for concessions because of the contribution housing construction makes to the economic bottom line and because there is a need for well located housing. New supply is also seen as a solution to declining housing affordability. Classical economic theory however is too simplistic for housing supply. Instead, an offshoot of Game Theory - Market Design – not only offers greater insight into apartment supply but also can simultaneously address price, design and quality issues. New research reveals the most significant risk in residential development is settlement risk – when buyers fail to proceed with their purchase despite there being a pre-sale contract. At the point of settlement, the developer has expended all the project funds only to see forecast revenue evaporate. While new buyers may be found, this process is likely to strip the profitability out of the project. As the global financial crisis exposed, buyers are inclined to walk if property values slide. This settlement problem reflects a poor legal mechanism (the pre-sale contract), and a lack of incentive for truthfulness. A second problem is the search costs of finding buyers. At around 10% of project costs, pre-sales are more expensive to developers than finance. This is where Market Design comes in.

Regulating unilateral supermarket misconduct as customer/acquirer of goods and services

Supermarkets in Australia may have substantial market power as buyers in wholesale markets for grocery products. They may also have substantial bargaining power in negotiating contracts with their suppliers of grocery products. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) regulates misconduct by supermarkets as customer/acquirers in three ways. First, s 46(1) of the CCA prohibits the ‘taking advantage’ of buyer power for the purpose of damaging a competitor, preventing entry or deterring or preventing competitive conduct. Secondly, s 21 of the ACL prohibits unconscionable conduct in business–to–business transactions. Thirdly, Pt IVB of the CCA provides for the promulgation of mandatory and voluntary industry codes of conduct. Since 1 July 2015 the conduct of supermarkets as customer/acquirers has been regulated by the Food and Grocery Industry Code of Conduct. This article examines these three different approaches. It considers them against the background of the misconduct at issue in ACCC v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd which the ACCC chose to litigate as an unconscionable conduct case, rather than a misuse of market power case. The article also considers the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three approaches and concludes that while the three approaches address different problems there is scope for overlap and all three should be retained for compete coverage.

Introduction to "Business innovation and disruption in the music industry"

Similar to most other creative industries, the evolution of the music industry is heavily shaped by media technologies. This was equally true in 1999, when the global recorded music industry had experienced two decades of continuous growth largely driven by the rapid transition from vinyl records to Compact Discs. The transition encouraged avid music listeners to purchase much of their music collections all over again in order to listen to their favourite music with ‘digital sound’. As a consequence of this successful product innovation, recorded music sales (unit measure) more than doubled between the early 1980s and the end of the 1990s. It was with this backdrop that the first peer-to-peer file sharing service was developed and released to the mainstream music market in 1999 by the college student Shawn Fanning. The service was named Napster and it marks the beginning of an era that is now a classic example of how an innovation is able to disrupt an entire industry and make large swathes of existing industry competences obsolete. File sharing services such as Napster, followed by a range of similar services in its path, reduced physical unit sales in the music industry to levels that had not been seen since the 1970s. The severe impact of the internet on physical sales shocked many music industry executives who spent much of the 2000s vigorously trying to reverse the decline and make the disruptive technologies go away. At the end, they learned that their efforts were to no avail and the impact on the music industry proved to be transformative, irreversible and, to many music industry professionals, also devastating. Thousands of people lost their livelihood, large and small music companies have folded or been forced into mergers or acquisitions. But as always during periods of disruption, the past 15 years have also been very innovative, spurring a plethora of new music business models. These new business models have mainly emerged outside the music industry and the innovators have been often been required to be both persuasive and persistent in order to get acceptance from the risk-averse and cash-poor music industry establishment. Apple was one such change agent that in 2003 was the first company to open up a functioning and legal market for online music. iTunes Music Store was the first online retail outlet that was able to offer the music catalogues from all the major music companies; it used an entirely novel pricing model, and it allowed consumers to de-bundle the music album and only buy the songs that they actually liked. Songs had previously been bundled by physical necessity as discs or cassettes, but with iTunes Music Store, the institutionalized album bundle slowly started to fall apart. The consequences had an immediate impact on music retailing and within just a few years, many brick and mortar record stores were forced out of business in markets across the world. The transformation also had disruptive consequences beyond music retailing and redefined music companies’ organizational structures, work processes and routines, as well as professional roles. iTunes Music Store in one sense was a disruptive innovation, but it was at the same time relatively incremental, since the major labels’ positions and power structures remained largely unscathed. The rights holders still controlled their intellectual properties and the structures that guided the royalties paid per song that was sold were predictable, transparent and in line with established music industry practices.

Socio-cultural influences on vehicle defects in the Omani heavy vehicle industry

With recent economic growth in Oman there is increased use of heavy vehicles, presenting an increase in heavy vehicle crashes, associated fatalities and injuries. Vehicle defects cause a significant number of heavy vehicle crashes in Oman and increase the likelihood of fatalities. The aim of this study is to explore factors contributing to driving with vehicle defects in the Omani heavy vehicle industry. A series of qualitative participants observations were conducted in Oman with 49 drivers. These observations also involved discussion and interviews with drivers. The observations occurred at two road-side locations where heavy vehicle drivers gather for eating, resting, vehicle check-up, etc. Data collection was conducted over a three week period. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. A broad number of factors were identified as contributing to the driving of vehicles with defects. Participants indicated that tyres and vehicle mechanical faults were a common issue in the heavy vehicle industry. Participants regularly reported that their companies use cheap, poor quality standards parts and conducted minimal maintenance. Drivers also indicated that they felt powerless to resist company pressure to drive vehicles with known faults. In addition, drivers reported that traffic police were generally in effective and lacked skill to appropriately conduct roadside inspection on trucks. Further, participants stated that it was possible for companies to avoid being fined during annual or roadside vehicle inspections if members of the company knew the traffic police officer conducting the inspection. Moreover, fines issued by police are generally directed to the individual driver rather than being applied to the company, thus providing no incentive for companies to address vehicle faults. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Identifying the financial barriers to deliberative, affordable apartment development in Australia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the financial barriers to the supply of affordable apartments in Australia and examine whether demand aggregation and ‘deliberative development’ (self-build) can form a new affordable housing ‘structure of provision’. Design/methodology/approach Market design, an offshoot of game theory, is used to analyse the existing apartment development model, with ‘deliberative development’ proposed as an innovative alternative. Semi-structured interviews with residential development financiers are used to evaluate whether deliberative development could obtain the requisite development finance. Findings Our investigation into the financial barriers of a deliberative development model suggest that while there are hurdles, these can be addressed if key risks in the exchange process can be mitigated. Hence, affordability can be enhanced by ‘deliberative development’ replacing the existing speculative development model. Research implications Market design is a new innovative theoretical approach to understanding the supply of housing, offering practical solutions to affordable apartment supply in Australia. Originality/value This research identifies financial barriers to the supply of affordable apartments; introduces theoretical understandings gained from market design as an innovative solution; provides evidence that a new structure of building provision based on ‘deliberative development’ could become a key means of achieving more affordable and better designed apartments.

Factors influencing sustainability of health service innovation: Emergency nurse practitioner services

Introduction: Emergency department nurse practitioner services are one of the most frequently implemented service delivery models in Australian hospitals. This research examined factors influencing sustainability of this innovative service delivery model and offers some recommendations for future service integration. Background Many health service innovations have been implemented in an attempt to meet the growing demand for efficient, cost effective health care however, sustainability of many of these innovations has not been evaluated and is poorly understood. Aim The aim of the research was to identify factors that influence sustainability of emergency department nurse practitioner services and to operationalise a theoretical framework for evaluating innovation sustainability. Methodology The research used case study methodology. The case was emergency nurse practitioner services, and units of analysis were emergency department staff, emergency nurse practitioners and documents relating to nurse practitioner services. The data collection methods included, survey, one-on-one interviews, document analysis and telephone survey. Results This research shows that emergency nurse practitioner services partially comply with the factors of sustainability as described in the Sustainability of Innovation theoretical framework: Political, Organisational, Workforce, Financial and Innovation specific factors. Where services do not entirely meet the factors the existing benefits of the service may outweigh the barriers and other means of working around shortfalls are also implemented by staff to ensure patient safety. Conclusion The rapidly expanding emergency nurse practitioner service has been examined using case study methodology to find that certain factors may be threatening the sustainability of this health service innovation. Potentially an innovation may be sustained when only some factors are met in the short term, however, long term sustainability may be challenged if factors are not addressed and supported.

On reconsideration of IT governance structures to govern cloud computing services

There is an increase in the uptake of cloud computing services (CCS). CCS is adopted in the form of a utility, and it incorporates business risks of the service providers and intermediaries. Thus, the adoption of CCS will change the risk profile of an organization. In this situation, organisations need to develop competencies by reconsidering their IT governance structures to achieve a desired level of IT-business alignment and maintain their risk appetite to source business value from CCS. We use the resource-based theories to suggest that collaborative board oversight of CCS, competencies relating to CCS information and financial management, and a CCS-related continuous audit program can contribute to business process performance improvements and overall firm performance. Using survey data, we find evidence of a positive association between these IT governance considerations and business process performance. We also find evidence of positive association between business process performance improvements and overall firm performance. The results suggest that the suggested considerations on IT governance structures can contribute to CCS-related IT-business alignment and lead to anticipated business value from CCS. This study provides guidance to organizations on competencies required to secure business value from CCS.

Cloud computing services for the small and medium enterprises: Key considerations for sourcing sustainable business value

The concept of cloud computing services (CCS) is appealing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, while there is a significant push by various authorities on SMEs to adopt the CCS, knowledge of the key considerations to adopt the CCS is very limited. We use the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework to suggest that a strategic and incremental intent, understanding the organizational structure and culture, understanding the external factors, and consideration of the human resource capacity can contribute to sustainable business value from CCS. Using survey data, we find evidence of a positive association between these considerations and the CCS-related business objectives. We also find evidence of positive association between the CCS-related business objectives and CCS-related financial objectives. The results suggest that the proposed considerations can ensure sustainable business value from the CCS. This study provides guidance to SMEs on a path to adopting the CCS with the intention of a long-term commitment and achieving sustainable business value from these services.

Governing cloud computing services: Reconsideration of IT governance structures

There is an increase in the uptake of cloud computing services (CCS). CCS is adopted in the form of a utility, and it incorporates business risks of the service providers and intermediaries. Thus, the adoption of CCS will change the risk profile of an organization. In this situation, organizations need to develop competencies by reconsidering their IT governance structures to achieve a desired level of IT-business alignment and maintain their risk appetite to source business value from CCS. We use the resource-based theories to suggest that collaborative board oversight of CCS, competencies relating to CCS information and financial management, and a CCS-related continuous audit program can contribute to business process performance improvements and overall firm performance. Using survey data, we find evidence of a positive association between these IT governance considerations and business process performance. We also find evidence of positive association between business process performance improvements and overall firm performance. The results suggest that the suggested considerations on IT governance structures can contribute to CCS-related IT-business alignment and lead to anticipated business value from CCS. This study provides guidance to organizations on competencies required to secure business value from CCS.

The nature and extent of use of Twitter for financial reporting by ASX listed companies: An exploratory study

We investigate the extent and nature of use of use of twitter for financial reporting by ASX listed companies. We consider 199 financial information related tweets from 14 ASX listed companies’ Twitter accounts. A thematic analysis of these tweets shows ‘Earnings’ and ‘Operational Performance’ are the most discussed financial reporting themes. Further, a comparison across industry sectors reveals that listed companies from varies industries show different usage patterns of financial reporting on Twitter. The examination of tweet sentiments also indicates a reporting bias within these tweets, as listed companies are more willing to disclose positive financial reporting tweets.

Honesty in the provision of expert services: The effect of naturalistic framings and participants' professions

This thesis studies the incentives and behaviour of providers of expert services, like doctors, financial advisors and mechanics. The focus is in particular on provision of health care using a series of credence goods experiments conducted to investigate undertreatment, overtreatment and overcharging in a medical context. The findings of study one suggest that a medical framing compared to a neutral framing significantly increases pro-social behaviour for standard participants in economic experiments. Study two compares the behaviour of medical practitioners - mainly doctors - to students. It is observed that medical doctors’ undertreat and overcharge significantly less, but at the same time overtreat significantly more than students. The final study compares behaviours for other experts - accountants, engineers and lawyers - using experimental framings drawn from the respective contexts and students from the respective faculties as participants in credence goods experiments.

Non-resident workers: A comparison of family support services for resource, health, and defence communities

Non-resident workforces experience high labour turnover, which has an impact on organisational operations and affects worker satisfaction and, in turn, partners’ ability to cope with work-related absences. Research suggests that partner satisfaction may be increased by providing a range of support services, which include professional, practical, and social support. A search was conducted to identify support available for resources and health-industry non-resident workers. These were compared to the supports available to families of deployed defence personnel. They were used to compare and contrast the spread available for each industry. The resources industry primarily provided social support, and lacked an inclusion of professional and practical supports. Health-professional support services were largely directed towards extended locum support, rather than to Fly-In Fly-Out workers. Improving sources of support which parallel support provided to the Australian Defence Force is suggested as a way to increase partner satisfaction. The implications are to understand the level of uptake, perceived importance, and utilisation of such support services.

A submission to the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services consultation “Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan”

This submission will address a number of questions raised in section 5.2, “Potential Future Initiatives to target smoking”, of the Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan – Community Consultation Draft. Each question has been answered within this submission. This submission will also address the possibility of legal challenges to these proposed changes, a pivotal consideration when implementing any tobacco control laws. This is due to the aggressive nature of the tobacco industry, as illustrated by their attempts to challenge plain packaging laws in the country and through international treaties. The evidence provided in my submission illustrates that prevention of initiation of smoking during adolescence has various benefits in terms of reduction of negative smoking behaviors in later life. I argue that increasing the minimum legal age of purchasing for tobacco to 21 will benefit both the levels of underage smoking as well as the age of onset of initiation of smoking, due to the greater difficulties that those who are underage would experience in accessing tobacco products. I will also address the question of whether the minimum smoking age should be increased to 25.