Adoption of obesity prevention policies and practices by Australian primary schools : 2006 to 2013

Despite significant investment in many countries, the extent of schools' adoption of obesity prevention policies and practices has not been widely reported. The aims of this article are to describe Australian schools' adoption of healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices over an 8-year period and to determine if their adoption varies according to schools' size, geographic or socio-economic location. Between 2006 and 2013, a representative randomly selected cohort of primary schools (n = 476) in New South Wales, Australia, participated in four telephone interviews. Repeated measures logistic regression analyses using a Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) framework were undertaken to assess change over time. The prevalence of all four of the healthy eating practices and one physical activity practice significantly increased, while the prevalence of one physical activity practice significantly decreased. The adoption of practices did not differ by school characteristics. Government investment can equitably enhance school adoption of some obesity prevention policies and practices on a jurisdiction-wide basis. Additional and/or different implementation strategies may be required to facilitate greater adoption of physical activity practices. Ongoing monitoring of school adoption of school policies and practices is needed to ensure the intended benefits of government investment are achieved.

Benefits, impediments and critical success factors in B2C E-business adoption

This paper reports the results of a study carried out to assess the benefits, impediments and major critical success factors in adopting business to consumer e-business solutions. A case study method of investigation was used, and the experiences of six online companies and two bricks and mortar companies were documented. The major impediments identified are: leadership issues, operational issues, technology, and ineffective solution design. The critical success factors in the adoption of e-business are identified as: combining e-business knowledge, value proposition and delivery measurement, customer satisfaction and retention, monitoring internal processes and competitor activity, and finally building trust. Findings suggest that above all, adoption of e-business should be appropriate, relevant, value adding, and operationally as well as strategically viable for an organization instead of being a result of apprehensive compliance.

Interprofessional interactions influence nurses' adoption of handover improvement

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore clinician experiences of adopting quality improvement tools to standardise interprofessional (anaesthetist-to-nurse) handover communication when patients arrive in the post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU). Method: In this study, factors that impacted PACU nurses' adoption of the quality improvement tools were explored using pre- and postimplementation, semi-structured focus group interviews. Interview data was analysed using the PARiHS¹ (context, evidence and facilitation) framework as a deductive analysis tool. Results: PACU nurses recognised that PACU handover from anaesthetists to PACU nurses was suboptimal and described the tools as useful for their practice. However, PACU nurses frequently cited fear of anaesthetists' reactions as reasons not to insist on the use of the handover improvement tools. PACU nurses at Hospital 2 identified lacking "authority" (Hospital 2 FG 2) in the OR as hindering their willingness to use the tools against these behaviours. In comparison, visible support from leadership at Hospital 1 was described as encouraging nurses to be "assertive" (Hospital 1 FG 2) and take charge of their patients' care. Conclusion: PACU nurses perceived the handover tools were useful and helped them identify gaps in handover practice; however, PACU nurses described difficult relationships as hindering communication effectiveness and discouraging their adoption of the tools. However, strong leadership and organisational support of change emerged as essential to mitigate the effects of these difficult relationships.

The potential adoption of IFRS for U.S. Issuers: a textual analysis of responses to the proposal

This paper uses textual analysis to analyse the comments received by the U.S. SEC on the proposal to allow U.S. listed companies to prepare financial statements following International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The paper contributes to the understanding of the overall desirability of international accounting convergence as well as the politics involved in attempting to reach consensus on such decisions. Most respondents supported the proposal. Respondents outlined the advantages of adopting IFRS as enhanced comparability, simplification, cost savings, extensive information sets, its capacity to improve the standard setting process, and its potential to serve U.S. interests. On the other hand, a minority of respondents were not supportive of the proposal. There was criticism of the lack of independence, enforcement mechanisms and resource availability of the IASB; the deleterious effect on U.S. interests; the questionable quality of the IFRS; and the perceived myths of convergence. Following the review of such comments, the paper outlines the implications of such a potential adoption of IFRS in U.S. to the Asian region as the pressure to extend IFRS to non-listed companies mounts. The paper also argues that Asian countries need to lobby for higher representation on the IASB and consider local customs, law and context while adopting IFRS, as such factors have been stressed upon by U.S. respondents to the SEC’s proposal.

Adoption and maintenance of gym-based strength training in the community setting in adults with excess weight or type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Participant adoption and maintenance is a major challenge in strength training (ST) programs in the community-setting. In adults who were overweight or with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a standard ST program (SST) to an enhanced program (EST) on the adoption and maintenance of ST and cardio-metabolic risk factors and muscle strength. METHODS: A 12-month cluster-randomized controlled trial consisting of a 6-month adoption phase followed by a 6-month maintenance phase. In 2008-2009, men and women aged 40-75 years (n = 318) with T2DM (n = 117) or a BMI >25 (n = 201) who had not participated in ST previously were randomized into either a SST or an EST program (which included additional motivationally-tailored behavioral counselling). Adoption and maintenance were defined as undertaking ≥ 3 weekly gym-based exercise sessions during the first 6-months and from 6-12 months respectively and were assessed using a modified version of the CHAMPS (Community Healthy Activity Models Program for Seniors) instrument. RESULTS: Relative to the SST group, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of adopting ST for all participants in the EST group was 3.3 (95 % CI 1.2 to 9.4). In stratified analyses including only those with T2DM, relative to the SST group, the adjusted OR of adopting ST in the EST group was 8.2 (95 % CI 1.5-45.5). No significant between-group differences were observed for maintenance of ST in either pooled or stratified analyses. In those with T2DM, there was a significant reduction in HbA1c in the EST compared to SST group during the adoption phase (net difference, -0.13 % [-0.26 to -0.01]), which persisted after 12-months (-0.17 % [-0.3 to -0.05]). CONCLUSIONS: A behaviorally-focused community-based EST intervention was more effective than a SST program for the adoption of ST in adults with excess weight or T2DM and led to greater improvements in glycemic control in those with T2DM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered at ACTRN12611000695909 (Date registered 7/7/2011).

Adoption of social media as a communication medium : a study of theoretical foundations

The continuing popularity and adoption of social media by the general public and the realisation of its potential customer engagement power by business, is highlighting the importance of social media to ongoing business activities and strategies. However, current research that is more focused around the potential power of social media generates little debate of the adoption factors driving public use of social media as a communication medium. Even though businesses have an opportunity to broaden their reach by adding social media to the communication strategic-mix, the dearth of informed discussions relating to theoretical underpinnings associated with the public adaptation of social media as a communication medium fails to clearly inform strategic business decisions regarding adoption decision-making. This research study conducted in the Australian context queries established theoretical frameworks by asking the question; what theoretical foundations do influence the social media adoption by the intended audience of communication?

Determinants and pre-hire outcomes of social recruiting technology adoption and use: an Australian study

 Social Recruiting technologies such as LinkedIn and Twitter have been fast emerging as one of the modern recruitment methods. However, research on their effective usage is scarce and outpaced by organisational practice. The current study addresses this gap by investigating the drivers of SR technology adoption on one hand, and their pre-hire outcomes on the other.

The adoption of social media by Australian banks to communicate with the public

 This thesis focuses on social media adoption by the Australian banks as method of communication. It proposes a ‘technology independent’ adoption model with components that encompass sociotechnological factors governing the adoption of social media. The model can also be adapted by any business organisation and prove beneficial for future.

Security and privacy concerns for Australian SMEs cloud adoption: empirical study of metropolitan vs regional SMEs

New national infrastructure initiatives such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia to have greater access to cost effective Cloud computing. However, the ability of Cloud computing to store data remotely and share services in a dynamic environment brings with it security and privacy concerns. Evaluating these concerns is critical to address the Cloud computing underutilisation issue and leverage the benefits of costly NBN investment. This paper examines the influence of privacy and security factors on Cloud adoption by Australian SMEs in metropolitan and regional area. Data were collected from 150 Australian SMEs (specifically, 79 metropolitan SMEs and 71 regional SMEs) and structural equation modelling was used for the analysis. The findings reveal that privacy and security factors do not significantly influence the decision-making of Australian SMEs in the adoption of Cloud computing. Moreover, the results indicate that Cloud computing adoption is not influenced by the geographical location (i.e., metropolitan or regional location) of the SMEs. The findings extend the current understanding of Cloud computing adoption by Australian SMEs. The results will be useful to SMEs, Cloud service providers and policy makers devising Cloud security and privacy policies.