Just do it? Branding, fashion and globalisation. A teaching and learning unit in global citizenship for the middle years

Presents to teaching guide on global citizenship for the middle years in Australian schools. Position of young people in consumerism; Impact of advertising on young consumers; Attitudes of students toward global branding.

Issues arising from the implementation of a comprehensive assessment approach in a large, multi-modal Bachelor of Commerce Unit

Recent literature in higher education argues university assessment has been too narrow and hasn’t adequately reflected the quality, breadth and depth of students’ learning. Research shows students often prioritise and learn what they need to know for formal, graded assessment and disregard other academic content seen as less relevant to those requirements. The predominance of essays and examinations has therefore tended to constrain learning. The case for a more comprehensive approach has been clearly articulated. So what happens when staff take up the unique challenge of designing fair and uniform assessment for a large, core, multi-modal, multi-campus unit offered nationally and internationally?
When developing an undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce unit at Deakin University, staff considered the most appropriate ways to assess a range of conceptual understandings and communication skills. This resulted in the mapping and adoption of a comprehensive approach incorporating teacher, peer, and self-assessment aspects, individual and group work, oral and written presentations, and the use of portfolios and journals. Particular practices were adopted to control workloads, ensure fairness in marking, and overcome some problems generally associated with group work. When implementing the approach, practical issues arose that demanded adjustments. This paper details the approach taken, outlines research activities, and discusses the practical implications of issues that arose.

Australia's radical predatory pricing reforms : what business must know

Radical changes to the Trade Practices Act have the potential to affect significantly, the ability of businesses to engage in vigorous price competition. These changes are designed to prohibit what is colloquially referred to as predatory pricing; the practice of a firm temporarily reducing its prices to a level designed to eliminate its competitors so that, free of competition, it can thereafter, lift them to supra-competitive levels. Unfortunately, because of its scope and the ambiguous new concepts it employs, the section has the potential to apply to all forms of vigorous.price competition and creates significant risks for those businesses who.seek to compete with their rivals by systematically, or irregularly, selling at lower prices than they do. This note examines the section's nature and scope and identifies the pitfalls that it presents for such firms.