Convergence in the gender wage gap in Australia over the 1980s : identifying the role of counteracting forces via the Juhn, Murphy and Pierce decomposition

The paper utilises the Juhn Murphy and Pierce (1991) decomposition to shed light on the pattern of slow male-female wage convergance in Australia over the 1980s. The analysis allows one to distinguish between the role of wage structure and genderspecific effects. The central question addressed is whether rising wage inequality counteracted the forces of increased female investment in labour market skills, i.e. education and experience. The conclusion is that in contrast to the US and the UK, Australian women do not appear to have been swimming against a tide of adverse wage structure changes.

Convergence and divergence during the adaptation to similar environments by an Australian Groundsel

Adaptation to replicate environments is often achieved through similar phenotypic solutions. Whether selection also produces convergent genomic changes in these situations remains largely unknown. The variable groundsel, Senecio lautus, is an excellent system to investigate the genetic underpinnings of convergent evolution, because morphologically similar forms of these plants have adapted to the same environments along the coast of Australia. We compared range-wide patterns of genomic divergence in natural populations of this plant and searched for regions putatively affected by natural selection. Our results indicate that environmental adaptation followed complex genetic trajectories, affecting multiple loci, implying both the parallel recruitment of the same alleles and the divergence of completely different genomic regions across geography. An analysis of the biological functions of candidate genes suggests that adaptation to coastal environments may have occurred through the recruitment of different genes participating in similar processes. The relatively low genetic convergence that characterizes the parallel evolution of S. lautus forms suggests that evolution is more constrained at higher levels of biological organization.

The gender wage gap in Australia - The path of future convergence

The paper attempts to project the future trend of the gender wage gap in Australia up to 2031. The empirical analysis utilises the Income Distribution Survey (1996) together with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) demographic projections. The methodology combines the ABS projections with assumptions relating to the evolution of educational attainment in order to project the future distribution of human capital skills and consequently the future size of the gender wage gap. The analysis suggests that female relative pay will continue to rise up to 2031. However, gender wage convergence will be relatively slow, with a substantial gap remaining in 2031.

Student and supervisor productivity change during nutrition and dietetic practice placements : A cohort study

Aim This study aimed to demonstrate how supervisors and students use their time during the three domains of nutrition and dietetic clinical placement and to what extent patient care and non-patient activities change during placement compared to pre- and post- placement. Methods A cohort survey design was used with students from two Queensland universities, and their supervisors in 2010. Participants recorded their time use in either a paper-based or an electronic survey. Supervisors’ and students’ time-use was calculated as independent daily means according to time use categories reported over the length of the placement. Mean daily number of occasions of service, length of occasions of service, project and other time use in minutes was reported as productivity output indicators and the data imputed. A linear mixed modelling approach was used to describe the relationship between the stage of placement and time use in minutes. Results Combined students’ (n= 21) and supervisors’ (n=29) time use as occasions of service or length of occasions of service in patient care activities were significantly different pre, during and post placement. On project-based placements in food service management and community public health nutrition, supervisors’ project activity time significantly decreased during placements with students undertaking more time in project activities. Conclusions This study showed students do not reduce occasions of service in patient care and they enhance project activities in food service and community public health nutrition while on placement. A larger study is required to confirm these results.

Efficiency and productivity of Singapore's manufacturing sector 2001-2010 : an analysis using bootstrapped truncated approach

This paper seeks to explain the lagging productivity in Singapore’s manufacturing noted in the statements of the Economic Strategies Committee Report 2010. Two methods are employed: the Malmquist productivity to measure total factor productivity (TFP) change and Simar and Wilson’s (2007) bootstrapped truncated regression approach which first derives bias-corrected efficiency estimates before being regressed against explanatory variables to help quantify sources of inefficiencies. The findings reveal that growth in total factor productivity was attributed to efficiency change with no technical progress. Sources of efficiency were attributed to quality of worker and flexible work arrangements while the use of foreign workers lowered efficiency.

The Good, the Bad and the Efficient : Productivity, efficiency and technical change in the Airline Industry, 2004:2008

This study models the joint production of desirable and undesirable output production (that is, CO2 emissions) of airlines. The Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index is employed to measure productivity growth when undesirable output production is regulated and unregulated. The results show that pollution abatement activities of airlines lowers productivity growth which suggests the traditional approach of measuring productivity growth, which ignores CO2 emissions, overstate "true" productivity growth.

Factor Five : Transforming the Global Economy through 80% Improvements in Resource Productivity

The 21st century will see monumental change. Either the human race will use its knowledge and skills and change the way it interacts with the environment, or the environment will change the way it interacts with its inhabitants. In the first case, the focus of this book, we would see our sophisticated understanding in areas such as physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, planning, commerce, business and governance accumulated over the last 1,000 years brought to bear on the challenge of dramatically reducing our pressure on the environment. The second case however is the opposite scenario, involving the decline of the planet’s ecosystems until they reach thresholds where recovery is not possible, and following which we have no idea what happens. For instance, if we fail to respond to Sir Nicolas Stern’s call to meet appropriate stabilisation trajectories for greenhouse gas emissions, and we allow the average temperature of our planets surface to increase by 4-6 degrees Celsius, we will see staggering changes to our environment, including rapidly rising sea level, withering crops, diminishing water reserves, drought, cyclones, floods… allowing this to happen will be the failure of our species, and those that survive will have a deadly legacy. In this update to the 1997 International Best Seller, Factor Four, Ernst von Weizsäcker again leads a team to present a compelling case for sector wide advances that can deliver significant resource productivity improvements over the coming century. The purpose of this book is to inspire hope and to then inform meaningful action in the coming decades to respond to the greatest challenge our species has ever faced – that of living in harmony with our planet and its other inhabitants.

Productivity differences, technology adoption and economic growth : the case of India

When the acronym of ëBRICí was coined in 2001 by Jim OíNeill of Goldman Sachs, it was expected that economic growth rates in India, Brazil and Russia would eventually catch up with that of China. However, China has continued to outperform the other economies in the group, even after it was renamed ëBRICSí to reflect the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The focus of this chapter is on one of the BRICS economies, namely India. Its aim is to examine from an economic perspective, why Indiaís performance has not lived up to expectations, and comment on the key challenges it faces in meeting them. We begin with some descriptive statistics regarding the progress of the Indian economy since 1990. While it has been growing at a rapid rate since the reforms it introduced in the1990s, there has been a slowdown in its overall GDP growth rates since 2008. The rate of growth experienced in the period 2003ñ07 was an average of 10.5 per cent. However, since the recession following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, the growth rate has fallen. From the period 2008ñ12 it has only registered an average growth rate of 6.5 per cent (World Bank, 2013). This chapter suggests that one of the major factors underpinning this slowdown is the performance of Indiaís agricultural sector. The importance of the agricultural sector is highlighted by the following stylized facts.

Leader-follower interactions : relations with OCB and sales productivity

Purpose Based on substitutes for leadership theory, the aim of this study is to examine followers' learning goal orientation as a moderator of relationships among transformational leadership, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and sales productivity. Design/methodology/approach Data came from 61 food and beverage attendants of a casino, and were analyzed using regression analyses. Findings Transformational leadership was positively related to both OCB and sales productivity. Learning goal orientation moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB, such that transformational leadership was more strongly related to OCB among followers with a low learning goal orientation than among followers with a high learning goal orientation. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study include the small sample size and cross-sectional research design. Practical implications Organizations could train supervisors to practice a transformational leadership style and to take followers' learning goal orientation into account. Originality/value The findings of this study suggest that, with regard to OCB, a high learning goal orientation of followers may act as a “substitute” for low levels of leaders' transformational leadership.

Considering research enquiry into biophilic urbanism and office worker productivity

In cities, people spend a significant portion of their time indoors, much of which is in office buildings. The quality and nature of these spaces have the potential to be a strong determinant of people’s health and wellbeing. There is a body of evidence that suggests experiences of nature increase the rate of attention recovery, reduce stress, depression and anxiety, and increase cognitive abilities. Further, the presence of nature inside buildings (such as pot plants and internal green walls) can improve indoor air quality, potentially reducing illness and increasing cognitive function. Urban design that integrates nature into the built environment to provide these benefits, among others, is called ‘biophilic urbanism’ and is the subject of growing international interest and research. The potential for these benefits to increase worker productivity in office buildings is of particular interest, as this could significantly increase the financial performance of office building-based organisations. However, productivity is a complex concept that is difficult to define, and affected by a multitude of factors, which make it difficult to measure. This inability to quantify productivity increases from investments in nature- experiences in office buildings is currently a significant barrier to such investments. Within this context, this paper considers opportunities for research to explore the relationship between office-based nature experiences and productivity, by reviewing existing research in this field and reflecting on the authors’ own experiences. This review has a particular focus on the importance of quantifying this link in order to encourage private property owners to voluntarily integrate nature into buildings to provide city-wide ecosystem service benefits. The paper begins with a contextual overview of how biophilic urbanism can potentially increase worker productivity. Existing methods of measuring and evaluating the performance of biophilic urbanism within the context of office buildings are then explored, along with a discussion of issues with such methods that are currently limiting investment in biophilic urbanism to increase worker productivity and wellbeing. This includes a summary of a survey within a Perth office building to explore the impact of views of nature through a window. Drawing on these insights, the paper makes recommendations regarding opportunities for focusing future investigations to enhance understanding of how biophilic urbanism can contribute to increased wellbeing and productivity in office buildings. This paper builds on work conducted as part of the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre Project 1.5, Harnessing the Potential of Biophilic Urbanism in Australia, which considered the role of nature integrated into the built environment in responding to emerging challenges of climate change, resource shortages and population pressures, while providing a host of co- benefits to a range of stakeholders.

Considering research enquiry into biophilic urbanism and office worker productivity

In cities, people spend a significant portion of their time indoors, much of which is in office buildings. The quality and nature of these spaces have the potential to be a strong determinant of people’s health and wellbeing. There is a body of evidence that suggests experiences of nature increase the rate of attention recovery, reduce stress, depression and anxiety, and increase cognitive abilities. Further, the presence of nature inside buildings (such as pot plants and internal green walls) can improve indoor air quality, potentially reducing illness and increasing cognitive function. Urban design that integrates nature into the built environment to provide these benefits, among others, is called ‘biophilic urbanism’ and is the subject of growing international interest and research. The potential for these benefits to increase worker productivity in office buildings is of particular interest, as this could significantly increase the financial performance of office building-based organisations. However, productivity is a complex concept that is difficult to define, and affected by a multitude of factors, which make it difficult to measure. This inability to quantify productivity increases from investments in nature- experiences in office buildings is currently a significant barrier to such investments. Within this context, this paper considers opportunities for research to explore the relationship between office-based nature experiences and productivity, by reviewing existing research in this field and reflecting on the authors’ own experiences. This review has a particular focus on the importance of quantifying this link in order to encourage private property owners to voluntarily integrate nature into buildings to provide city-wide ecosystem service benefits. The paper begins with a contextual overview of how biophilic urbanism can potentially increase worker productivity. Existing methods of measuring and evaluating the performance of biophilic urbanism within the context of office buildings are then explored, along with a discussion of issues with such methods that are currently limiting investment in biophilic urbanism to increase worker productivity and wellbeing. This includes a summary of a survey within a Perth office building to explore the impact of views of nature through a window. Drawing on these insights, the paper makes recommendations regarding opportunities for focusing future investigations to enhance understanding of how biophilic urbanism can contribute to increased wellbeing and productivity in office buildings. This paper builds on work conducted as part of the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre Project 1.5, Harnessing the Potential of Biophilic Urbanism in Australia, which considered the role of nature integrated into the built environment in responding to emerging challenges of climate change, resource shortages and population pressures, while providing a host of co- benefits to a range of stakeholders.

Enhancing Research Productivity of TEFL Academic in China : A Mixed Method Study

As research has become an important indicator of TEFL academics’ overall performance in Chinese higher education institutions, it is critical that TEFL academics are able to meet the expectation of conducting research. This mixed-method study (an initial survey followed by a qualitative collective case study)investigated research productivity of Chinese TEFL academics and associated influences, with the ultimate objective of constructing a framework to help build their research capacity in the future. The findings from this study revealed that the 182 Chinese TEFL academics’ research productivity during 2004-2008 was relatively low. Four influences were identified that impacted on thier research productivity: TEFL disciplinary influences, institutional and departmental research environments, individual characteristics desirable for research, and TEFL academics’ perceptions about research. Drawing upon the above findings, a Framework towards Enhancing Chinese TEFL Academics’ Research Productivity (FECTARP) was constructed. The FECTAR presented a framework for Chinese institutions and TEFL departments to enhance their TEFL academics' research capacity.

A framework to analyze the impact of sustainable infrastructure on human productivity

The built environment has a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health and productivity. As the majority of the people spent most of their time inside buildings, the environment in which they perform their daily activities will have an impact on their health and productivity. Studies have been conducted about the negative impacts of presence of non-favorable conditions to human health and well being. The term "Sick Building Syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort problems that appear to be linked to their time spent in a building. Sustainable infrastructure rating systems have requirements intended to improve occupant productivity and health.While the impact of Sustainable Infrastructure in energy consumption and waste/water reduction can be measured using available tools, the impact on productivity remained as an assumption that is not clearly measured. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework to assess whether the impacts of the incorporation of features intended to improve occupants’ performance and health such as: increased ventilation, lightning and thermal comfort serve their intended purpose.

Economic development and construction productivity in Malaysia

The productivity of the construction industry has a significant effect on national economic growth. Gains from higher construction productivity flow through the economy, as all industries rely on construction to some extent as part of their business investment. Contractions and expansions of economic activity are common phenomena in an economy. Three construction cycles occurred between the years 1970 and 2011 in Malaysia. The relationships between construction productivity and economic development are examined by the partial correlation method to establish the underlying factors driving the change in construction productivity. Construction productivity is statistically significantly correlated with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in a positive direction for the 1985–98 and 1998–2009 cycles, but not the 1970–85 cycle. Fluctuations in construction activities and the influx of foreign workers underlie the changes of construction productivity in the 1985–98 cycle. There was less fluctuation in construction activities in the 1998–2009 cycle, with changes being mainly due to the fiscal stimulation policies of the government in attempting to stabilize the economy. The intensive construction of mega-projects resulted in resource constraints and cost pressures during the 1980s and 1990s. A better management of the ‘boom-bust’ nature of the construction business cycle is required to maintain the capability and capacity of the industry.

Measuring Productivity Gains from Deregulation of the Japanese Urban Gas Industry

The Japanese government initiated a series of regulatory reforms in the mid-1990s. The Japanese urban gas industry consists of various sized private and non-private firms. Numerous previous studies find that deregulation leads to productivity improvements. We extend the literature by analyzing deregulation, privatization, and other aspects of a regulated industry using unique firm level data. This study measures productivity to evaluate the effect of the deregulation reform. Using data from 205 firms from 1993 to 2004, we find that the deregulation effect differs depending on firm size. Competitive pressure contributes to advanced productivity. The deregulation of gas sales to commercial customers is the most important factor for advancing productivity. Copyright © 2013 by the IAEE. All rights reserved.