Preliminary review of over-regulation in Australian financial services

This article examines a preliminary review and the limited evidence of over-regulation in Australian financial services. The 1997 Wallis Report and the CLERP 6 paper resulted in the amendments to Ch 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) by the Financial Services Reform Act. Nearly a decade later the system based upon 'one-size fits all' dual track regime and a consistent licensing regime has greatly increased the costs of compliance. In the area of enforcement there has not been a dramatic change to the effective techniques applied by ASIC over other agencies such as APRA. In particular there are clear economic arguments, as well as international experiences which state that a single financial services regulator is more effective than the multi-layered approach adopted in Australia. Finally, in the superannuation area of financial services, which is worth A$800 billion there is unnecessary dual licensing and duplicated regulation with little evidence of any consumer-member benefit but at a much greater cost

Benefit analysis of airborne GPS occultation approach : a case study for the Australian region

This paper aims to present a preliminary benefit analysis for airborne GPS occultation technique for the Australian region. The simulation studies are based on current domestic commercial flights between major Australian airports. With the knowledge of GPS satellite ephemeris data, occultation events for for any particular flight can be determined. Preliminary analysis shows a high resolution occultation observations can be achieved with this approach, for instance, about 15 occultation events for a Perth-to-Sydney flight. The simulation result agrees to the results published by other researchers for a different region. Of course, occultation observation during off-peak hours might be affected due to the limited flight activities. --------- High resolution occultation observations obtainable from airborne GPS occultation system provides an opportunity to improve the current global numerical weather prediction (NWP) models and ultimately improves the accuracy in weather forecasting. More intensive research efforts and experimental demonstrations are required in order to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the airborne GPS technology.

Will the Australian national curriculum up the intellectual ante in classrooms?

A critical review of the current and potential impacts of the Australian National Curriculum on the enacted curriculum in primary schools, with specific attention to issues of equity and social justice.

The relationship between implied and realized volatility : evidence from the Australian stock index option market

This paper examines the relationship between the volatility implied in option prices and the subsequently realized volatility by using the S&P/ASX 200 index options (XJO) traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) during a period of 5 years. Unlike stock index options such as the S&P 100 index options in the US market, the S&P/ASX 200 index options are traded infrequently and in low volumes, and have a long maturity cycle. Thus an errors-in-variables problem for measurement of implied volatility is more likely to exist. After accounting for this problem by instrumental variable method, it is found that both call and put implied volatilities are superior to historical volatility in forecasting future realized volatility. Moreover, implied call volatility is nearly an unbiased forecast of future volatility.

An epidemic of pain in an Australian radiology practice

This paper presents findings from a study of an organisationally mandated assimilation process of an enterprise-wide information system in a radiology practice in Australia. A number of interviews with radiologists, radiographers and administrative staff are used to explore the impact of institutional structures on the assimilation process. The case study develops an argument that culture within and outside the Australian Radiology Practice (ARP), social structures within the ARP and organisational-level management mandates have impacted on the assimilation process. The study develops a theoretical framework that integrates elements of social actor theory (Lamb & Kling, 2003) to provide a more fine-grained analysis concentrating on the relationship among the radiology practitioners, the technology (an enterprise-wide Health Information System) and a larger social milieu surrounding its use. This study offers several theoretical and practical implications for technology assimilation in the health and radiology industry regarding the important roles social interactions, individual self-perceptions, organisational mandates and policies can play in assimilating new ICTs.

Business on-line? An empirical study of factors leading to the adoption of Internet technologies by Australian SMEs

E-commerce technologies such as a website, email and the use of web browsers enables access to large amounts of information, facilitates communication and provides niche companies with an effective mechanism for competing with larger organisations world-wide. However recent literature has shown Australian SMEs have been slow in the uptake of these technologies. The aim of this research was to determine which factors were important in impacting on small firms' decision making in respect of information technology and e-commerce adoption. Findings indicate that generally the more a firm was concerned about its competitive position such a firm was likely to develop a web site. Moreover the 'Industry and Skill Demands' dimension suggested that as the formal education of the owner/manager increased, coupled with the likelihood that the firm was in the transport and storage or communication services industries, and realising the cost of IT adoption was in effect an investment, then such a firm would be inclined to develop a web site.

Students’ perceptions, experiences and beliefs about Facebook in subjects at an Australian university

This paper reports on students’ perceptions, experiences and beliefs about the voluntary use of Facebook in Advertising, Law, Nursing and Creative Industries’ subjects at an Australian University. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with students and the transcriptions were analysed using the constant comparison method. This resulted in a number of emergent themes, of which six are explored in this paper. The findings suggest that students are quite divergent in their responses to academics using Facebook in their subjects. They do not always see its relevance to the subject and are somewhat ambivalent about how it facilitates peer-to-peer relationships or a better relationship with the lecturer. The study also identifies themes relating to cynicism and intrusion into social spaces.

Australian torts laws

"Provides a comprehensive overview of the law of torts for law students. The legislative reform brought about by the IPP Committee recommendations are included and commented upon." -- Libraries Australia

Advance Directives and the Promotion of Autonomy: a Comparative Australian Statutory Analysis

Legislation regulating advance directives exists in six Australian jurisdictions. In all of these jurisdictions, legislation was enacted to enshrine the common law right of a competent adult to refuse treatment in advance, even if that treatment was required to sustain life. It was thought that enshrining the common law would also enshrine the principle of autonomy on which the common law was based. This article explores whether this is the case by examining the legislative restrictions that are imposed on a competent adult who wishes to complete an advance directive refusing treatment. The article reviews the legislation in all Australian jurisdictions and concludes that, while many of the legislative restrictions can be justified, many cannot as they effectively erode rather than promote the right of a competent adult to refuse treatment.

The appropriateness of default investment options in defined contribution plans : Australian evidence

For participants in defined contribution (DC) plans who refrain from exercising investment choice, plan contributions are invested following the default investment option of their respective plans. Since default investment options of different plans vary widely in terms of their benchmark asset allocation, the most important determinant of investment performance, participants enrolled in these options face significantly different wealth outcomes at retirement. This paper simulates the terminal wealth outcomes under different static asset allocation strategies to evaluate their relative appeal as default investment choice in DC plans. We find that strategies with low or moderate allocation to stocks are consistently outperformed in terms of upside potential of exceeding the participant’s wealth accumulation target at retirement as well as downside risk of falling below that target outcome by aggressive strategies whose allocation to stocks approach 100%. The risk of extremely adverse wealth outcomes for plan participants also does not appear to be very sensitive to asset allocation. Our evidence suggests the appropriateness of strategies heavily tilted towards stocks to be nominated as default investment options in DC plans unless plan providers emphasize predictability of wealth outcomes over adequacy of retirement wealth.

Steering towards pinnacle of success : the NEC tenets in Australian construction contracting

Contractual relationships have become increasingly strained in recent years in the construction industry result in the use of the judicial system for the settlement of contractual disagreements. Why is this so? Evidence from anecdotes suggest that the lack of capacity amongst owners and contractors to carry out a contract using a good practice approach during the construction of a project contribute to the occurrence of conflicts, losses, deficient contractual relationships and poor performance of the construction work. Recognizing that current forms of contract in use today perpetuate a legacy of construction problems, we are conducting explanatory research to examine whether the widely publicized benefits of New Engineering Contract (NEC) could be realized in the Australian construction industry. This paper outlines a research agenda that will help shed light on how contract forms are able to be used as a mechanism to ensure construction projects are delivered successfully whilst also meeting the goals of multiple stakeholders. Understanding the Critical Success Factors (CSFs), commonly used construction contracts and the NEC system can help us address some of these issues. However, there are gaps in the validation of the benefits of NEC and its link with project success. We identify some of these gaps and propose a methodology by which to gain insights into this phenomenon. Keywords: Project Success, Construction Contracting, New Engineering Contract (NEC)

A national evaluation of the Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards (1994): a multistakeholder perspective

This paper summarises results from an evaluation of the adequacy and utility of the Australian Competency Standards for Entry-Level Occupational Therapists © (OT AUSTRALIA, 1994a). It comprised a two-part study, incorporating an online survey of key national stakeholders (n = 26), and 13 focus groups (n = 152) conducted throughout Australia with occupational therapy clinicians, academics, OT AUSTRALIA association and Occupational Therapy Registration Board representatives, as well as university program accreditors. The key recommendations were that: (i) urgent revision to reflect contemporary practice, paradigms, approaches and frameworks is required; (ii) the standards should exemplify basic competence at graduation (not within two years following); (iii) a revision cycle of five years is required; (iv) the Australian Qualifications Framework should be retained, preceded by an introduction describing the scope and nature of occupational therapy practice in the national context; (v) access to the standards should be free and unrestricted to occupational therapists, students and the public via the OT AUSTRALIA (national) website; (vi) the standards should incorporate a succinct executive summary and additional tools or templates formatted to enable occupational therapists to develop professional portfolios and create working documents specific to their workplace; and (vii) language must accommodate contextual variation while striking an appropriate balance between providing instruction and encouraging innovation in practice.

Protecting the protectors : legal liabilities from the use of Web 2.0 for Australian disaster response

The traditional model for information dissemination in disaster response is unidirectional from official channels to the public. However recent crises in the US, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Californian Bushfires show that civilians are now turning to Web 2.0 technologies as a means of sharing disaster related information. These technologies present enormous potential benefits to disaster response authorities that cannot be overlooked. In Australia, the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission has recently recommended that Australian disaster response authorities utilize information technologies to improve the dissemination of disaster related, bushfire information. However, whilst the use of these technologies has many positive attributes, potential legal liabilities for disaster response authorities arise. This paper identifies some potential legal liabilities arising from the use of Web 2.0 technologies in disaster response situations thereby enhancing crisis related information sharing by highlighting legal concerns that need to be addressed.

A cross cultural examination of consumer behaviour and GM food products : results from Australian and South Korean female consumers

The call for the cross cultural examination and validation of commonly accepted relationships within consumer behaviour is strengthening. Consequently, this paper seeks to address this call by examining consumer risk perceptions, reliance on country of origin information and willingness to buy Genetically Modified (GM) food products on Australian and South Korean consumers. Findings indicate a number of cross cultural similarities and differences that have both theoretical and practical implications.