The characteristics of property trust IPOs in Australia

This paper follows Ling and Ryngaert (1997) and Brounen and Eichholtz (2001) who investigate the underpricing of REIT initial public offerings (lPOs) in the United States and Europe respectively. This study adds to the international literature by investigating Australian property trusts. It reports a variety of descriptive statistics on 37 Australian property trust IPOs from 1994 to 1999. What it also contributes is the finding that some IPOs have extremely low volumes of shares traded on the first day so the simple use of a closing price at the end of the first day to determine underpricing returns (without reference to the volume of trading) may not always be the optimum method of calculating these returns.

Cultural understanding: rethinking music teacher education in a multicultural Australia

This paper provides a multicultural perspective to music education in Australia and makes recommendations for the creation of more suitable intercultural training programs in Australian universities. It explores issues of multiculturalism in higher education institutions and argues that music education is a useful platform to address and rethink cultural diversity, where difference can be celebrated. Within Australian multicultural society, the rights and traditions of all people are recognized, respected and included. In this process, higher education institutions are challenged to prepare student teachers to meet the needs of society. This involves cultural understanding and the creation of multicultural curricula. From reflecting on current music education programs offered at Deakin University, Melbourne, it is argued that there is need to rethink current approaches to music education pedagogy. Although there are attempts to have an all inclusive approach in teacher training, the music curriculum is still trapped in the potpourri effect of trying to create culturally responsive teachers for every permutation of the multicultural classroom. When Australian society, ideally approaches true styles of multicultural music, teachers and students will celebrate the rich diversity of this nation.

Veiled threats : recurrent cultural anxieties in Australia

At the end of the nineteenth century, white Australians found themselves in a turbulent and rapidly changing world. As British settlers in a vast, often-perplexing and under-populated continent, they were increasingly aware that they lived in a crowded and predominantly Asian neighbourhood. Their supposedly empty spaces seemed to invite the unwanted attention of hostile outsiders, fertile soil for speculation about vulnerable borders, invasion and violation. It was commonplace of the period for white females to be considered at once particularly vulnerable and also innocent symbols of the new nation. They needed to be protected against Asian males allegedly bent on conquest and violation. It does not follow that these “invasion narratives”, however persistent, meant that the entire population was disabled by fear and dread, but there is convincing evidence of a deeply embedded cultural anxiety about the destructive possibilities and hostile intentions of Asian outsiders. In this article, the authors examine recent representations of Muslims as hostile outsiders in Australia, focusing in particular on the veil as a marker of female oppression under Islam and a sign of the threat attributed to the Islamic community in Australia. While it would be misleading to propose a simple line of progression from late nineteenth century apprehensions to those a century or more later, there are nonetheless intriguing parallels and recurrent expressions of survivalist anxiety across the period examined in this article.

Music education in Australia : valuing cultural diversity

Australia is a ‘mosaic of cultures’, the borders between cultures, communities and societies are continually blurring, thus music and multiculturalism cannot be divorced from society per se. As teachers are agents of change, broadening students’ experiences and understandings of ‘other cultures’ can only enhance the provision of inclusive, rich, multicultural programs at schools. The article considers notions of multiculturalism, cultural diversity and music education. It also raises concerns and issues when valuing cultural diversity in music education. Music is an effective platform to foster understanding of difference within and beyond the classroom. I propose that teacher education courses provide intercultural inclusive practices.

A construct of the cross-cultural ethos of corporate codes of ethics (ECCE) : Australia, Canada and Sweden

The objective of this paper is to develop and describe a construct of the ethos of the corporate codes of ethics (i.e., an ECCE-construct) across three countries, namely Australia, Canada and Sweden. The ECCE-construct makes a contribution to theory and practice in the field as it outlines a theoretical construct for the benefit of other researchers. It is also of managerial interest to marketing organizations as it provides a grounded framework of areas to be considered in the implementation in organizations of corporate codes of ethics.

Issues in the implementation of cross-cultural management in Australia-evidence from a study of selected public and private sector organisations

This study examines the current status of cross-cultural management (CCM) in Australia.

The study is based on Reyes' (2004) Ph.D research of a qualitative nature in five organisations in the public and private sectors selected from a sample of organisations which appear to lead the field in Australia in respect of CCM. Literature is also surveyed to present a picture of the current legal and institutional setting of CCM in Australia and provide a context for the study.

Analysis of the findings highlights the gap between cross-cultural rhetoric and action in workplace situations. Problems are identified leading to incomplete and inadequate implementation of CCM in the respondent organisations. The study argues for the need for management to take a systems approach to the formulation and implementation of CCM. Some suggestions are made for improvements in the future.