Impact of board size and board diversity on firm value: Australian evidence

The aim of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis of the relationship between firm market value and the size and gender diversity of a board of directors for a sample of publicly listed Australian firms. Our results show that smaller boards appear to be more effective in representing the shareholders as smaller boards are associated with higher firm value. As board size increases firm value declines, however at a decreasing rate suggesting that the relationship between board size and firm value is not strictly linear. Our findings further indicate that gender diversity promotes shareholders' value as the presence of women directors is associated with higher firm value.

A review of employment relations theories and their application

New developments in the industrial relations and human resource management have moved management and employee bargaining down to the level of the firm. In doing so they have generated a growing level of interest in the conduct of employment relations, not just at the level of specialist managers, who have traditionally had the responsibility for dealing with issues in this area, but across management as a whole. There is thus a growing need for managers to place more emphasis on achieving a greater symmetry between commercial objectives and employment practices. This paper looks at the predicates of managerial authority and its legitimacy, and how personal assumptions and value systems (i.e., ‘frames of reference’) held by managers can predispose them to view the nature of work and workplace relations in particular ways. The paper also presents
and aligns a range of contemporary theories within the province of such systems, with the aim being to show how judgements made about the worth or otherwise of a given range of theories are inevitably shaped by the type of value system and set of assumptions one holds towards the
world of work. The paper concludes by offering a practical guide to managers on how to evaluate their own assumptions and value systems when applying the noted theories and concepts to real world circumstances. In doing so, the paper provides a tool kit of theories and concepts that should allow managers to avoid engaging in workforce management practices that are either illconceived or based on intuitive premises.

Ageing effects on visual reaction time in a single task condition and when treadmill walking

Visual reaction time (RT) was measured in 10 older men (mean age, 71.1 years) and gender-matched controls (mean age, 26.3 years) when standing (single task) and when walking on a motor-driven treadmill (dual task). There were 90 quasirandomly presented trials over 15 min in each condition. Longer mean and median RTs were observed in the dual task compared to the single task. Older males had significantly slower mean and median RTs (315 and 304 ms, respectively) than the younger group (273 and 266 ms, respectively) in both task conditions. There were no age or condition effects on with in-subject variability. Both groups showed a trend of increasing RT over the 90 single task trials but when walking only the younger group slowed. These novel findings demonstrate high but sustained attention by older adults when walking. It is proposed that the motor task's attentional demands might contribute to their slower preferred walking speed.

Models of scientific community: Charles Sanders Peirce to Thomas Kuhn

Scientific community' is common currency in the study of science, largely due to Kuhn's use of the term in his highly influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. As this article explains, however, 'scientific community' was not of Kuhn's coining. It was hinted at by Peirce, and expressly designated by Royce. On a few occasions Fleck affirmed a scientific community, while Polanyi studied it in some detail. The article concludes by comparing these thinkers' 'communitarian' interpretations of science.

"Join together, work together, for the common good - solidarity": village formation processes in the rural south of Laos

This article explores the concept of the solidary village in contemporary Laos. It argues that the "village" today is not a fixed, primordial entity, but a continually emergent formation resulting from numerous processes, including but not limited to modern state processes. The notion of "village" circulates in the ambiguous "common sense" pertaining to rural Laos, in the attitudes, expectations, representations, and regulated requirements of the rural, in what I term village formation projects. Case studies of "village formation projects" in one village in southern Laos illustrate not only the importance of the village concept, but also its indeterminacy and fluidity, and the ensuing difficulty of achieving the "solidarity" and cooperative donation required by poverty reduction policies.

Southeast Asian perceptions of Australia's foreign policy

This article argues that while the US alliance remains at the forefront of Australian security policy, the deepening of ties between the United States and Australia has the potential to complicate Australia's relations with its Southeast asian neighbours. Moreover, the manner in which the Howard government has attempted to manage this shift in policy has only exacerbated the problem. Australian pronouncements of support for the US policy of pre-emption, the perceived preference of the Australian Prime Minister to take on the role of ‘Deputy Sheriff’, and the unwieldy approach taken by the Australian government in policy announcements pertaining to maritime and security policy have caused unnecessary tension and mistrust between Australia and some Southeast asian states.

Engaging with stakeholders or constructing them? Attitudes and assumptions in stakeholder software

New activists are engaging in a range of extra-parliamentary activities, including extensive use of the internet, to create political change at local, national and international levels. As new activists become more effective, more sophisticated and, above all, more organised, traditional public relations or ‘PR spin’ is increasingly exposed as not just ineffective, but also an unethical way to respond to criticisms. But growing numbers of state and business organisations are trying to create new relationships with stakeholders that are inclusive, sustainable and aligned with the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR). A range of stakeholder communication software packages claim to guide and support organisations wishing to create such relationships. However, these software packages can do more than merely offer guidance and support. They can actively influence how an organisation engages with stakeholders by embodying particular discourses that construct stakeholders as adversaries. This article examines two stakeholder software packages, showing how each one’s rhetoric of inclusion accompanies discourses that recreate adversarial relationships between organisation and stakeholders. The article sets such developments against the broad backdrop of developing notions of CSR, arguing that the uncritical use of stakeholder communication packages can reduce CSR to ‘more PR spin’.

Fighting a tobacco rollback : a political analysis of the 1994 contraband crisis in Canada

We identify factors that led a regional government (Quebec, Canada) to opt for a reduction of its tobacco tax to combat tobacco smuggling. Then we explore the fallout of Quebec's tobacco-tax rollback on its tobacco control policy. We conducted qualitative research using a case-study design and multiple sources of data. We applied the Advocacy Coalition Framework in respect of data collection and analysis. Advocates of the tobacco-tax rollback framed the contraband problem in a way that won the support of an array of actors. However, anti-tobacco activists succeeded in convincing the government to invest more in tobacco control. The new resources were instrumental in enhancing the activists' ability to promote legislative measures. Our approach sheds light on the tobacco industry's strategy to have governments reducing their tobacco tax. Quebec offers an example of how tobacco control activists can transform defeat into the cornerstone of a comprehensive tobacco control policy.

Generic rehabilitation assistants : will rehabilitation nurses take up the challenge?

This paper provides an overview of some of the issues that need to be considered in the context of a declining health workforce. It outlines some of the arguments for and against the introduction of generic health workers and more specifically, for the role of generic rehabilitation - assistant. It is argued that rehabilitation nurses, amongst others, are well placed to take an active role in the development of innovative interdisciplinary models of care that enhance patient outcomes as they transect the continuum of care. Failure to do so will be at the peril of rehabilitation nursing.

An empirical analysis of gender differences in sports attendance motives

In Australia, male sports attendees outnumber female sports attendees by 25%, yet little research has been conducted into the attendance motives of women. This study undertakes an analysis of 460 respondents using descriptive and multivariate statistics to distinguish the attendance motivations of women and compare them directly to those of male attendees. The findings suggest that female attendance can be influenced through management and promotional strategies.

Season-ticket holder satisfaction and sponsor-related behaviour: evidence of a positive relationship

Fan attention and response to sponsorship is affected by a range of variables, including the duration of sponsorship and fan commitment to the sporting organisation. The results of surveys of the members of six Australian Football League clubs indicated that there is a positive relationship between the satisfaction levels of season-ticket holders and their orientation towards club sponsors' products and brands.

Comparison of bovine RNA polymerase III promoters for short hairpin RNA expression

RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by DNA-based expression of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) is a powerful method of sequence-specific gene knockdown. A number of vectors for expression of shRNA have been developed that feature promoters from RNA polymerase III (pol III)-transcribed genes of mouse or human origin. To advance the use of RNAi as a tool for functional genomic research and for future development of specific therapeutics in the bovine species, we have developed shRNA expression vectors that feature novel bovine RNA pol III promoters. We characterized two bovine U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) promoters (bU6-2 and bU6-3) and a bovine 7SK snRNA promoter (b7SK). We compared the efficiency of each of these promoters to express shRNA molecules. Promoter activity was measured in the context of RNAi by targeting and suppressing the reporter gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein. Results show that the b7SK promoter induced the greatest level of suppression in a range of cell lines. The comparison of these bovine promoters in shRNA expression is an important component for the future development of bovine-specific RNAi-based research.

The advantages of a proactive business response to human rights reporting

In a globalizing world, with shifting production, labor and consumer markets and increased competitiveness, human rights are gaining new practical relevance. The UN Global Compact presented by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the World Economic Forum at Davos in 1999, sought to create a voluntary international corporate citizenship network to bring together private-sector and other social actors. Its central aim is to advance responsible corporate citizenship and universal social and environmental principles to meet the challenges of globalization. The business (and ethical) case for corporate engagement in human rights reporting is strengthening, although much still needs to be done. The Danish Human Rights and Business Project launched its 2006 educational project on company codes of conduct aimed at developing models for business in the pharmaceutical, steel, agricultural, logging, lumber, paper and cardboard, and apparel and textile industries, assessing company codes against international human rights standards.