A community development perspective on behaviour change programs for men

This thesis utilised the inductive Grounded Community Development Research method to examine programs that aim to educate men in non-violent, abusive and controlling ways of relating to others. This study concluded with specific recommendations including working more closely with the legal system, assessing long term program outcomes and improving partner contact.

Adolescent day programs

The thesis reports on three studies which investigated the following phenomena. Adolescent day programs (ADPs) are the preferred treatment option for a substantial number of Australian adolescents whp suffer from mental health disorders, but little empirical research has been conducted on what sonstitutes an ADP, whether such programs have efficacy, and if they do, what factors contribute to their efficacy. The professional portfolio reviews the existing literature on parent abuse before considering the relevance of this information for clinical practice by examining four cases of parent abuse that were treated in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

Customer satisfaction, novelty-seeking, and loyalty in intermittently available services

The marketing literature identifies customer satisfaction as an immediate antecedent to customer loyalty. Recently, some marketing researchers have questioned the strength of this link. This thesis provides insight into the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty and determines the effects of moderating factors, particularly the need for variety, on the satisfaction-loyalty relationship.

Chronic heart failure programs : does more equal less? (BENCH study)

The national multi-centre study (49 programs, 1158 patients) developed a quality score (HF-IS) and the national benchmarks for heart programs. The higher a program scored on the HF-IS the greater the reduction in hospital admissions and mortality. This score has the potential to change national nursing practice and improve health outcomes of patients.

Comparison of the levels of students' career maturity resulting from two models for the delivery of career education programs in selected Victorian government secondary schools

At both national and state levels, the delivery of career education has been recommended to follow an integrated model with a high level of staff participation across the school. However it has been found that in many schools the career education program is primarily delivered by a careers teacher. This study compared whether the recommended integrated model or the specialist careers teacher model delivered better outcomes for students in terms of their levels of career maturity. The main finding of the research is that the integrated model of delivery of career education programs did make a significant difference to the cognitive career maturity of the students in the selected Victorian governement secondary schools.

PROJAM : the management of complex projects and programs

Challenges the existing normal science in project management with its limitations of high certainty in scope definition and develops a contingency based model for project / program management (PROJAM). The PROJAM concept is theoretically supported through the identification of eight inter related aspects - uncertainty, maturity, stakeholders, pareto, reward, transparency, partnering, and program management. The ideas presented represent a radical change to the eisting project management body of knowledge and expand the scope of project management to deal with complex projects / programs including organisational change, core function outsourcing (asset management) and IT hardware and software outsourcing.

A case study exploring the sociocultural characteristics of adult Japanese ESL learners in Australian EAP programs

Research findings show that the poor level of English accomplishment amongst Japanese students in English as Second Language (ESL) settings continues to be an issue of concern. This interpretative study adopted an ethnographic case method to explore and advance reader’s understanding of Japanese learner’s sociocultural characteristics and, also, to investigate how cross-cultural similarities/ differences between the sociocultural heritage of Japanese learners and the contextual factors of Australian English for Academic Purposes (EAP) study abroad programs interact. This study aims to interpret the problems surrounding the poor performance of Japanese students in Australian ESL contexts and identify issues not present in the literature that warrant further investigation. Interviews, structured by a thematic reporting framework, were used as the interpretive instrument for data collection. Data, supported by the reporting framework, was analysed using a constant comparative method. The exploratory nature of this report led to the following conclusions. Firstly, Japanese students’ past educational experience interferes with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in Australian EAP study abroad programs. Secondly, Japanese students have a predisposition towards integrative motivation. Thirdly, significant others influence Japanese learners’ ability to cope with transition issues, such as managing academic and social problems. Finally, contextual factors of Australian EAP programs (e.g. course materials, teaching and learning methodology and assessment) negatively impact English language learning. This study raises questions about the difficulties experienced by Japanese learners in Australian EAP study aboard programs.

Do entrepreneurship programs matter? An analysis of North American university innovation systems

Are there differences in commercialization outcomes between universities in Canada and the USA? If so, why? We first examine the commercialization performance of universities on both sides of the 49th parallel through indicators of university spinouts generated. Secondly, we measure the presence and growth in numbers of entrepreneurship centers to determine if there are any parallels or discernable patterns that may be related to spinout performance. Based upon theories that suggest entrepreneurial culture plays a significant role in the spinout process, we then test the hypothesis that entrepreneurship education programs play a significant role in determining spinout performance. Our model assumes that the level and intensity of an academic entrepreneurship program/center is a valid indicator of “entrepreneurial culture” that may impact upon a universities propensity to spinout new knowledge intensive firms. Our results find that there is indeed a correlation between intensity of entrepreneurship program and commercialization outcomes.

Can you teach all of the people some of the time? The development and evaluation of information literacy programs at the University of Queensland Library

Information skills and computer literacy are now seen by many within the academic community as essential. They are key graduate attributes required by students for lifelong learning and leadership roles in business and industry, government and society. Trends in the higher education sector bringing a renewed focus to teaching and preparing students for a global knowledge economy are outlined.

This paper focuses upon the power of a teaching and learning policy framework which supports the integration of information literacy into the curriculum. The increasing ease with which collaborative partnerships are formed between academic planners, course coordinators and librarians is highlighted by case studies of successful programs. Challenges are identified and change strategies described.

Consumer loyalty in South Asia: A double edged sword?

Within the growing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries, almost no attention has been paid to the link between consumer awareness about their rights, adoption of socially responsible (SR) practices by small scale individual entrepreneurs (SIEs) and how these impact on consumer loyalty in a developing country context thus leaving a significant knowledge gap. This paper builds on the work of Azmat and Samaratunge (2009) on SIEs to address this gap in literature in the context of South Asia. South Asia as a region is growing rapidly and is moving to become a new powerhouse of economic development, yet the responsible business practices of SIEs who form a significant proportion of businesses operating in this region remain severely under-researched. We draw upon the existing literature to develop a comprehensive framework which presents a set of propositions specifying the relationship between consumer awareness, socially responsible business practices adopted by SIEs and consumer loyalty. The framework offers insight into understanding consumer loyalty in the context of developing countries.