Organisation change and its impact on Australian Building Societies' performance

The paper examines the relation between changing ownership structure and performance of Australian building societies. An analysis and discussion of the theories of organizational development and change is undertaken to explore the mutual building societies' motivation for change. The financial performance measures, provided by financial ratios of the major mutual building societies in Australia, are examined to assess the behaviour of building societies under different governance structures in the 1980s and 1990s. The theoretical and empirical literature has suggested that mutual deposit-taking institutions should have lov^^er profitability and higher operating expenses than their publicly listed counterparts. Accounting ratios are observed over time to investigate if governance change in mutual deposit-taking organizations accounted for any discernable differences in profitability and cost efficiency pre- and post- demutualization. The study finds support for the contention that demutualized building societies will have higher profitability and lower costs than their mutual counterparts. The study is confined to investigation of the six largest building societies that undertook the demutualization process. It could he extended to the entire building society sector. The results have implications for investors, managers and 'ovraers' of firms that retain their mutual structure, suggesting the demutualization vnû benefit these groups. There is no study that compares mutual deposit-taking institutions pre- and post-conversion in Australia.

The institutional foundation of materialism in western societies

Studies of materialism have increased in recent years, and most of these studies examine various aspects of materialism including its individual or social consequences. However, understanding, and possibly shaping, a society’s materialistic tendencies requires a more complete study of the relationship between a society’s institutional patterns and the acceptance of materialism by its members. Consequently, the current study examines five of the institutional antecedents of materialism to understand better how and why it develops as a mode of consumption within a society. More specifically, a model relating materialism and a set of institutionalized patterns of social behavior referred to as the dominant social paradigm was developed and tested in a study of seven industrial, market-based countries. The results suggest that the economic, technological, political, anthropocentric, and competition institutions making up the dominant social paradigm are all positively related to materialism. The implications of the relationship are then discussed.

Cystic fibrosis in children of the eastern Arabian peninsula : a clinical, spatial and genetic study

Aim: The aim of this thesis is to describe the process by which the inherited disease, cystic fibrosis, (CF) was recognised as an important clinical entity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Sultanate of Oman (Oman). It examines the clinical presentation of the first patients and assesses their degree of severity. Further, it describes the first studies carried out to determine the underlying CF mutations associated with the disease in the UAE and Oman. An estimate is offered of the birth frequency of the condition. Overall, the cultural, geographical and historical aspect of the societies in which the disease occurs is stressed. Methods: An initial literature search was carried out using Medline of any literature pertaining to the Arab World and CF. this was read and classified into the relevance to Arabs in general, the Middle East and then specifically the Arab (Persian) Gulf societies. Thereafter, a clinic was established at Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, UAE, for children presenting With chronic respiratory disease that could serve as a national referral centre. It was run by the Author as a service of the Paediatric Department of the UAE University Medical School. I sent a letter to every Paediatrician working in the UAE informing them of our clinic and offering our services for the diagnosis and management of chronic respiratory disease in children. This was based on the author's experience as a respiratory paediatrician in Australia and New Zealand and as the Professor of Paediatrics in the UAE. No such service then existed in the UAE. Funding was sought to establish a research programme and develop a molecular genetics laboratory in the UAE Medical School. A series of successful research applications provided the grants to commence the investigations. Once a small number of children had been identified as having CF from those referred to the respiratory clinic, the initial project was to assess and report their clinical presentation. Following this an early start was made on the identification of the mutations responsible. Once these were established an attempt was made to estimate the frequency of the condition at birth. Additional clinical studies revolved around assessing the severity of the condition that was associated with the main mutations that were identified. A clinical comparison was made with those with the mutation AF508 and the other main mutation, despite the obvious limitation of small numbers then available. Radiological assessment was made to evaluate the progression of the disease. The final aspect of the study was to assess patients from Oman and compare their findings and mutations with the neighbouring UAE. Based on information gained hypotheses are proposed regarding the spread of the gene mutation by population drift. Thesis outline: A literature review is presented in the form of a critique on the disease and a resume of the relevant aspects of the genetics of CF. Additionally, facts about the two countries' geography and history are presented. Finally, knowledge about CF mutations and population origins from other areas is presented. The second main section deals with the clinical features of the disorder as it presents in the UAE. Molecular findings are then presented and details of the common mutation found in Bedouin Arabs. Hypotheses are then presented based on the information gathered. Results: CF is not a rare disease in the Arab children of the UAE and Oman. These findings refute previous reports of CF being a rare or non-existent disease in Arabs. The condition presents with a severe clinical picture, with early colonisation of the respiratory tract with staphylococcus, haemophilus and pseudomonas organisms, even with conventional CF management practices in place. The CF mutation S549R is prevalent in Arabs of Bedouin stock, while AF508 is found in those of Baluch origin. The former may be descendants of Arabs who left southern Arabia and travelled to the Trucial Coast at the time of the destruction of the great dam at Marib. The origins of this mutation may lie in the area that corresponds to the modern Republic of Yemen. The latter groups are descendants of those who came originally from Baluchistan. It is hypothesised also that the ancestral home of the AF508 mutation may be in the geographical area now known as Baluchistan, that spans three separate modern political territories. The evidence presented supports the concept that the S549R mutation may be associated with a severe, if not the severest, clinical pattern recognised. It equates with that seen with the homozygous AF508 genotype. The absence of an additional mutation in the promoter region accounts for the different clinical pattern seen in previously described patients. Conclusions: There needs to be a major awareness of the presence of CF as a severe clinical disease in the children of the Gulf States. The clinical presentation and findings support the concept of under recognition of the disease. Climatic conditions put the children at special risk of hyponatraemia and electrolyte imbalance. The absence of surviving adults with the disease suggests premature deaths have occurred, but the high fertility rates have maintained the gene pool for this recessive disorder.

Transition of international postgraduate students : friends and societies

The study examines the experiences of international postgraduate (IP) student’s transition at a university, and adds to the literature as it focuses on student-based support for transition where mostly past research has focused on university-based support. The study utilises social support theory (House, 1981) and Illeris’ (2002) concepts on learning to explain why students transition. A qualitative methodology was used where 48 students were interviewed. It was found that IP students experienced negative transition experiences in the beginning, but adjusted as time went on. Involvement in the student society was beneficial for transition, as it gave students the opportunity to make friends, and these friends, in turn, give students social support, which assists with their learning and transition.

‘On the influence of the scientific societies of New Zealand on the character of the nation’ - Collecting and identity at the Hawke’s Bay Philosophical Institute museum, 1874–1899

This paper explores the collection and collecting activity of the Hawke’s Bay Ph ilosophical Institute of Napier, New Zealand. It examines the development of the Institute’s museum and considers the motivations, intentions and interests of the collectors and their activity within the broader scientific and museum context. The work of two significant collectors is examined in detail: William Colenso, FLS, FRS, missionary, explorer and enthusiastic botanist, who engaged in over fifty years of correspondence and botanical exchange with Sir Joseph Hooker at Kew Gardens; and Augustus Hamilton, the curator of the museum who later became Director of New Zealand’s national collection at the Colonial Museum in Wellington. Through consideration of the Institute’s activities during the period 1874 to 1899, it is proposed that within the collection, the emergence of a distinct local identity can be discerned, during the early colonial period of Hawke’s Bay.

Neuroendocrine neoplasms of the GI tract : the role of cytotoxic chemotherapy

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) comprise a heterogeneous group of neoplasms derived from peptide- and amine-secreting cells of the neuroendocrine system. NENs commonly arise in the GI tract but can arise in most organs of the body. NENs in different organs share many common pathologic features. Although the incidence of NENs is not high, the prevalence is not low because many patients may live relatively long periods without major symptoms from the disease. While many of these tumors lead an indolent clinical course, they constitute a therapeutic challenge when they progress, metastasize and become symptomatic. Treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach including cytotoxic chemotherapy. Almost all clinical trials investigating cytotoxic chemotherapy in NENs are small single-arm studies and guidelines are derived from expert opinion and from extrapolating results from small cell lung cancer studies. This article briefly reviews NENs before focusing on reviewing data on the role of cytotoxic chemotherapy studies in NENs.