Structural adjustment and change in the Australian life insurance industry post demutualization

Deregulation of financial markets has been an important platform for government policy in recent times. It has been a catalyst in the expansion of financial sector. The experience of Australian life insurers during this period represents an interesting case study into the impact of regulatory transition. The lifting of restrictions changed the institutional environment within which life insurers operated. In doing so it precipitated changes in strategies and organizational structures of these financial intermediaries. An information cost framework is used to analyse the consequences of deregulation and its implications for the Australian life insurance industry in emerging global financial markets.

Estimating mean exposures from censored data: exposure to benzene in the Australian petroleum industry

A retrospective assessment of exposure to benzene was carried out for a nested case control study of lympho-haematopoietic cancers, including leukaemia, in the Australian petroleum industry. Each job or task in the industry was assigned a Base Estimate (BE) of exposure derived from task-based personal exposure assessments carried out by the company occupational hygienists. The BEs corresponded to the estimated arithmetic mean exposure to benzene for each job or task and were used in a deterministic algorithm to estimate the exposure of subjects in the study. Nearly all of the data sets underlying the BEs were found to contain some values below the limit of detection (LOD) of the sampling and analytical methods and some were very heavily censored; up to 95% of the data were below the LOD in some data sets. It was necessary, therefore, to use a method of calculating the arithmetic mean exposures that took into account the censored data. Three different methods were employed in an attempt to select the most appropriate method for the particular data in the study. A common method is to replace the missing (censored) values with half the detection limit. This method has been recommended for data sets where much of the data are below the limit of detection or where the data are highly skewed; with a geometric standard deviation of 3 or more. Another method, involving replacing the censored data with the limit of detection divided by the square root of 2, has been recommended when relatively few data are below the detection limit or where data are not highly skewed. A third method that was examined is Cohen's method. This involves mathematical extrapolation of the left-hand tail of the distribution, based on the distribution of the uncensored data, and calculation of the maximum likelihood estimate of the arithmetic mean. When these three methods were applied to the data in this study it was found that the first two simple methods give similar results in most cases. Cohen's method on the other hand, gave results that were generally, but not always, higher than simpler methods and in some cases gave extremely high and even implausible estimates of the mean. It appears that if the data deviate substantially from a simple log-normal distribution, particularly if high outliers are present, then Cohen's method produces erratic and unreliable estimates. After examining these results, and both the distributions and proportions of censored data, it was decided that the half limit of detection method was most suitable in this particular study.

Flexible delivery in the Australian vocational education and training sector: Barrier to success identified in cases studies of four adult learners

Government policy in Australia is increasingly encouraging training organisations in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector to adopt flexible delivery approaches, but some researchers are sounding a note of caution. Evidence is emerging that Australian VET learners are not universally ready for flexible delivery, and this is reflected in high attrition rates and low pass rates. The literature on flexible delivery identifies a number of specific factors that can impact on the success of adult learners. However, there seems to be agreement that failure or dropout is not determined by a single factor, but by the interaction of a number of factors that build up over time. To understand these factors, we need to understand the learners - what their participation in education means to them, the context in which they are studying, and the numerous inter-connected factors that contribute to their failure to achieve a successful outcome. This paper discusses four case studies from a research project that followed up a small number of adult learners who enrolled in flexible delivery VET courses but did not achieve a successful outcome.

Preliminary observations on the tank and pond culture of the glass eels of the Australian shortfin eel, Anguilla Australis Richardson

There is expanding interest in the culture of the Australian shortfin eel Anguilla australis Richardson; however, there is a lack of fundamental biology and husbandry information necessary to further develop an industry within Australia. The present study was undertaken to gain a preliminary understanding of basic husbandry requirements for rearing of juvenile A. australis (glass eels and elvers) in tanks and earthen ponds. Newly caught glass eels were successfully acclimated to culture conditions. During tank culture trials, specific growth rates (SGR) and survival rates ranged from −2.1 to 2.8% day⁻¹ and 52% to 100% respectively. Glass eels weaned onto a commercial eel diet exhibited a significantly greater SGR and survival rate than those weaned onto a commercial trout diet. Glass eels weaned onto an eel diet over a 15-day period grew slightly faster than eels weaned over a 5-day period, but survival rates were not significantly different for each treatment. SGRs (up to 2.8% day⁻¹) were significantly higher for glass eels fed at 9 and 12% day⁻¹ than at 6% day⁻¹. Stocking densities between 2.5 kg m⁻³ and 30 kg m⁻³ did not influence either SGR or survival rates. SGRs were significantly higher for glass eels cultured at 25 °C than at lower temperatures. During pond culture trials, SGRs and survival rates ranged from 1.36 to 1.65% day⁻¹ and 39% to 77% respectively. The SGR and survival rates of juvenile eels stocked into ponds receiving supplementary feeding with a commercial eel diet were not significantly different to those of eels stocked into ponds that did not receive supplementary feeding.

The rising prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance : the Australian diabetes, obesity and lifestyle study

OBJECTIVE—To determine the population-based prevalence of diabetes and other categories of glucose intolerance (impaired glucose tolerance [IGT] and impaired fasting glucose [IFG]) in Australia and to compare the prevalence with previous Australian data.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A national sample involving 11,247 participants aged >=25 years living in 42 randomly selected areas from the six states and the Northern Territory were examined in a cross-sectional survey using the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test to assess fasting and 2-h plasma glucose concentrations. The World Health Organization diagnostic criteria were used to determine the prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance.

RESULTS—The prevalence of diabetes in Australia was 8.0% in men and 6.8% in women, and an additional 17.4% of men and 15.4% of women had IGT or IFG. Even in the youngest age group (25–34 years), 5.7% of subjects had abnormal glucose tolerance. The overall diabetes prevalence in Australia was 7.4%, and an additional 16.4% had IGT or IFG. Diabetes prevalence has more than doubled since 1981, and this is only partially explained by changes in age profile and obesity.

CONCLUSIONS—Australia has a rapidly rising prevalence of diabetes and other categories of abnormal glucose tolerance. The prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance in Australia is one of the highest yet reported from a developed nation with a predominantly Europid background.

Abbreviations: 2hPG, 2-h plasma glucose • AusDiab, Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study • CD, Census Collector District • FPG, fasting plasma glucose • IFG, impaired fasting glucose • IGT, impaired glucose tolerance • KDM, known diabetes mellitus • NDM, newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus • OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test • WHO, World Health Organization

The shifting meaning of persecution in the Australian refugee law: How much must one suffer to be deserving of asylum?

Legislative changes to the meaning of persecution in Australia in the context of refugee law - courts' approach to what constitutes persecution in conflict with Parliament's understanding - level of harm that a person must endure in order to be eligible for refugee status - narrow definition of persecution should be adopted such that only those asylum seekers whose subsistence is imperilled should qualify as refugees.

Fundamental determinants of the Australian price-earnings multiple

This paper is the first attempt to investigate the factors fundamental to the setting of the price–earnings (P–E) multiple for the Australian stock market. The quarterly P–E ratio for the ASX 200 index is used as a measure of the market wide P–E multiple. It is demonstrated that a large portion of the variation in the P–E multiple can be explained by the dividend payout ratio, interest rates and GDP growth rates. In addition, consumers' confidence—a leading indicator of future growth opportunities, the Australian–US exchange rate—a key determinant of the competitiveness of domestic companies, and volatility of domestic market returns—a risk factor, have incremental explanatory power.

Reconnaissance limnology of Tasmania VIII. Tasmanian coastal lagoons - epicentres of endemism in the Australian aquatic microbiota

Two clusters of coastal lagoons, one near Strahan on Tasmania's west coast, the other near St Helens on the north-east coast, are the prime known epicentres of novelty and endemism in the Australian freshwater algal flora. The algae inhabiting these acid, dystrophic lagoons have a very limited distribution. Other dystrophic lagoons may have one or two, but not all, of this suite of endemics. The Strahan dune lakes, especially Lake Garcia, also have the greatest microfaunal diversity yet recorded from any Tasmanian waterbody, including several endemic species. The St Helens sites are less rich in species of microfauna, perhaps because of climatic differences or perhaps because of less intensive sampling there, but they, too, contain endemic taxa. The lagoons in both areas lie outside the formal protection of national parks, but present land management does provide a measure of protection.

Pup production and population trends of the Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus)

We estimated the number of live Australian fur seal pups using capture-markresights, direct ground counts, or aerial photography at all breeding sites following the pupping season of November-December 2002. Pups were recorded at 17 locations; nine previously known colony sites, one newly recognized colony and seven haul-out sites where pups are occasionally born. In order of size, the colonies were Lady Julia Percy Island (5,899 pups), Seal Rocks (4,882), The Skerries (2,486), Judgment Rocks (2,427), Kanowna Island (2,301), Moriarty Rocks (1,007), Reid Rocks (384), West Moncoeur Island (257), and Tenth Island (124). The newly recognized site was Rag Island, in the Cliffy Group, where we recorded 30 pups. We also recorded pups at the following haul-out sites: Cape Bridge-water (7 pups), Bull Rock (7), Wright Rock (5), Twin Islet (1), The Friars (1), He des Phoques (1), and Montague Island (1). In total, we estimate there were 19,819 (SE = 163) live pups at the time of the counts. We discuss trends in pup numbers and derive current population estimates for the Australian fur seal.

The Australian construction linkages in the 1990s

Abstract: During the 1990s, the construction sector played an important role with its growing contributions to the gross national product, gross domestic product and employment in the Australian economy. Using the newly released 1998-99 input-output table and four previously published tables by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, this paper aims to measure the sectoral linkages of the Australian construction sector in the 1990s in relation to other industrial countries. Results describe the increase in construction volume was mainly due to the increase in governmental and non-residential construction expenditures and lagging construction technology. The technical level of the non-residential construction sub-sector was a drag to the total construction, while the non-residential construction sub-sector presented a stronger economic push than that of the residential construction sub-sector. In the 1990s, the inputs and outputs' components of the construction sector were stable. The linkages of the Australian construction sector are discussed from an international point of view.