Bringing academics on board : encouraging institution-wide diffusion of e-learning environments

Rapid advances in educational and information communications technology (ICT)have encouraged some educators to move beyond traditional face to face and distance education correspondence modes toward a rich, technology mediated e-learning environment. Ready access to multimedia at the desktop has provided the opportunity for educators to develop flexible, engaging and interactive learning resources incorporating multimedia and hypermedia. However, despite this opportunity, the adoption and integration of educational technologies by academics across the tertiary sector has typically been slow. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated factors influencing the manner in which academics adopt and integrate educational technology and ICT. The research was conducted at a regional Australian university, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), and focused on the development of e-learning environments. These e-learning environments include a range of multimodal learning objects and multiple representations of content that seek to cater for different learning styles and modal preferences, increase interaction, improve learning outcomes, provide a more inclusive and equitable curriculum and more closely mirror the on campus learning experience. This focus of this paper is primarily on the barriers or inhibitors academics reported in the study, including institutional barriers, individual inhibitors and pedagogical concerns. Strategies for addressing these obstacles are presented and implications and recommendations for educational institutions are discussed.

"I'm thinking 'bout moving in"... An examination of the issues impacting on the recruitment of secondary school graduates to the library and information profession

In recent years concern has been expressed internationally about the future of the library and information services (LIS) profession: recruitment and retention, changing skill sets and declining numbers of people choosing librarianship as a career are all factors contributing to an uncertain future. One area yet explored in any depth is the topic of why LIS studies are not perceived, let alone promoted, as a good first professional qualification for high school graduates. This paper considers the professional literature that examines the uptake of librarianship as a first qualification by school leavers and discusses, in the context of the Australian library sector, the role of professional associations, library schools, National and State Libraries, as well as individual libraries and librarians. Examples of best practice are presented to highlight the opportunities for inspiring and motivating students through well structured and stimulating work experience programs. The topic is relevant to all librarians who are interested in the future of the LIS profession. It is argued that the focus of the present conference on ‘moving up’ and ‘moving on’ can only have real significance when the profession has a more complete understanding of the barriers to and the opportunities for ‘moving in’.

The development of an evidentiary on-board massmonitoring application for heavy vehicles

This paper reports on the development of specifications for an on-board mass monitoring (OBM) application for regulatory requirements in Australia. An earlier paper reported on feasibility study and pilot testing program prior to the specification development [1]. Learnings from the pilot were used to refine this testing process and a full scale testing program was conducted from July to October 2008. The results from the full scale test and evidentiary implications are presented in this report. The draft specification for an evidentiary on-board mass monitoring application is currently under development.

Recruiting local public relations professionals for global relations practice : a comparative analysis between Australian and Indian public relations recruitment advertisements

The aim of this exploratory study was to gain an insight into Asian and Western public relations practices by investigating them through job advertisements and thus reflecting on what organisations expect from the public relations professionals. Grunig's (1984) four models of public relations and the concept of relationships management were used as the foundation for this study. Australia was used to represent the Western region and India was used to represent the Asian region. Sample sets of public relations recruitment advertisements from both countries were examined against Grunig's one-way communication, two-way communication and relationship management attributes.

Mathematical modelling of muscle recruitment and function in the lumbar spine

Low back pain is an increasing problem in industrialised countries and although it is a major socio-economic problem in terms of medical costs and lost productivity, relatively little is known about the processes underlying the development of the condition. This is in part due to the complex interactions between bone, muscle, nerves and other soft tissues of the spine, and the fact that direct observation and/or measurement of the human spine is not possible using non-invasive techniques. Biomechanical models have been used extensively to estimate the forces and moments experienced by the spine. These models provide a means of estimating the internal parameters which can not be measured directly. However, application of most of the models currently available is restricted to tasks resembling those for which the model was designed due to the simplified representation of the anatomy. The aim of this research was to develop a biomechanical model to investigate the changes in forces and moments which are induced by muscle injury. In order to accurately simulate muscle injuries a detailed quasi-static three dimensional model representing the anatomy of the lumbar spine was developed. This model includes the nine major force generating muscles of the region (erector spinae, comprising the longissimus thoracis and iliocostalis lumborum; multifidus; quadratus lumborum; latissimus dorsi; transverse abdominis; internal oblique and external oblique), as well as the thoracolumbar fascia through which the transverse abdominis and parts of the internal oblique and latissimus dorsi muscles attach to the spine. The muscles included in the model have been represented using 170 muscle fascicles each having their own force generating characteristics and lines of action. Particular attention has been paid to ensuring the muscle lines of action are anatomically realistic, particularly for muscles which have broad attachments (e.g. internal and external obliques), muscles which attach to the spine via the thoracolumbar fascia (e.g. transverse abdominis), and muscles whose paths are altered by bony constraints such as the rib cage (e.g. iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis and parts of the longissimus thoracis pars thoracis). In this endeavour, a separate sub-model which accounts for the shape of the torso by modelling it as a series of ellipses has been developed to model the lines of action of the oblique muscles. Likewise, a separate sub-model of the thoracolumbar fascia has also been developed which accounts for the middle and posterior layers of the fascia, and ensures that the line of action of the posterior layer is related to the size and shape of the erector spinae muscle. Published muscle activation data are used to enable the model to predict the maximum forces and moments that may be generated by the muscles. These predictions are validated against published experimental studies reporting maximum isometric moments for a variety of exertions. The model performs well for fiexion, extension and lateral bend exertions, but underpredicts the axial twist moments that may be developed. This discrepancy is most likely the result of differences between the experimental methodology and the modelled task. The application of the model is illustrated using examples of muscle injuries created by surgical procedures. The three examples used represent a posterior surgical approach to the spine, an anterior approach to the spine and uni-lateral total hip replacement surgery. Although the three examples simulate different muscle injuries, all demonstrate the production of significant asymmetrical moments and/or reduced joint compression following surgical intervention. This result has implications for patient rehabilitation and the potential for further injury to the spine. The development and application of the model has highlighted a number of areas where current knowledge is deficient. These include muscle activation levels for tasks in postures other than upright standing, changes in spinal kinematics following surgical procedures such as spinal fusion or fixation, and a general lack of understanding of how the body adjusts to muscle injuries with respect to muscle activation patterns and levels, rate of recovery from temporary injuries and compensatory actions by other muscles. Thus the comprehensive and innovative anatomical model which has been developed not only provides a tool to predict the forces and moments experienced by the intervertebral joints of the spine, but also highlights areas where further clinical research is required.

Is there an optimal board size?

This research quantitatively examines the determinants of board size and the consequence it has on the performance of large companies in Australia. In line with international and the prevalent United States research the results suggest that there is no significant relationship between board size and their subsequent performance. In examining whether more complex operations require larger boards it was found that larger firms or firms with more lines of business tended to have more directors. Data analysis from the research supports the proposition that blockholders could affect management practices and that they enhances performance as measured by shareholder return.

Are East Asian companies benefiting from western board practices?

Since the Asian crisis, East Asian nations have strived to introduce corporate governance codes, directing companies how to best improve their corporate governance practices. However, these codes have not been universally accepted by East Asian companies. This study examines the adoption of major board-related corporate governance recommendations by large nonfinancial companies in seven East Asian nations and investigates whether improvements in these board governance mechanisms have been associated with increased operating performance and market value. The results indicate that family-owned companies started with worse board governance and have been least likely to improve their board governance since the crisis. Overall, bigger, faster growing, non-family-owned companies with less concentrated ownership have been more likely to improve their board governance. Splitting of the positions of Chairman and CEO, creation of audit and nomination committees and improvements in overall board governance were found to have a positive relationship with subsequent operating performance and/or market value.

Do board contacts matter? : an analysis of the relationship between boards of directors’ ties and the performance of Australia’s largest companies.

Boards of directors are thought to provide access to a wealth of knowledge and resources for the companies they serve, and are considered important to corporate governance. Under the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm (Wernerfelt, 1984) boards are viewed as a strategic resource available to firms. As a consequence there has been a significant research effort aimed at establishing a link between board attributes and company performance. In this thesis I explore and extend the study of interlocking directorships (Mizruchi, 1996; Scott 1991a) by examining the links between directors’ opportunity networks and firm performance. Specifically, I use resource dependence theory (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978) and social capital theory (Burt, 1980b; Coleman, 1988) as the basis for a new measure of a board’s opportunity network. I contend that both directors’ formal company ties and their social ties determine a director’s opportunity network through which they are able to access and mobilise resources for their firms. This approach is based on recent studies that suggest the measurement of interlocks at the director level, rather than at the firm level, may be a more reliable indicator of this phenomenon. This research uses publicly available data drawn from Australia’s top-105 listed companies and their directors in 1999. I employ Social Network Analysis (SNA) (Scott, 1991b) using the UCINET software to analyse the individual director’s formal and social networks. SNA is used to measure a the number of ties a director has to other directors in the top-105 company director network at both one and two degrees of separation, that is, direct ties and indirect (or ‘friend of a friend’) ties. These individual measures of director connectedness are aggregated to produce a board-level network metric for comparison with measures of a firm’s performance using multiple regression analysis. Performance is measured with accounting-based and market-based measures. Findings indicate that better-connected boards are associated with higher market-based company performance (measured by Tobin’s q). However, weaker and mostly unreliable associations were found for accounting-based performance measure ROA. Furthermore, formal (or corporate) network ties are a stronger predictor of market performance than total network ties (comprising social and corporate ties). Similarly, strong ties (connectedness at degree-1) are better predictors of performance than weak ties (connectedness at degree-2). My research makes four contributions to the literature on director interlocks. First, it extends a new way of measuring a board’s opportunity network based on the director rather than the company as the unit of interlock. Second, it establishes evidence of a relationship between market-based measures of firm performance and the connectedness of that firm’s board. Third, it establishes that director’s formal corporate ties matter more to market-based firm performance than their social ties. Fourth, it establishes that director’s strong direct ties are more important to market-based performance than weak ties. The thesis concludes with implications for research and practice, including a more speculative interpretation of these results. In particular, I raise the possibility of reverse causality – that is networked directors seek to join high-performing companies. Thus, the relationship may be a result of symbolic action by companies seeking to increase the legitimacy of their firms rather than a reflection of the social capital available to the companies. This is an important consideration worthy of future investigation.

The role of the board of directors : perceptions of managerial elites

We highlight how directors and senior managers perceive the roles of a board to involve overseeing risk and compliance, strategy, governance, developing the CEO and senior management and managing stakeholders. We find that managers and directors perceive board effectiveness as linked to different combinations of these roles and that there appear to be differences in perceptions between different types of firms. We conclude that clarity around the board’s role set is critical to furthering the corporate governance research agenda, and that the relationship between board roles and perceived board effectiveness differs between managers and directors.

Employer branding : strategic implications for staff recruitment

In many developed economies, changing demographics and economic conditions have given rise to increasingly competitive labour markets, where competition for good employees is strong. Consequently, strategic investments in attracting suitably qualified and skilled employees are recommended. One such strategy is employer branding. Employer branding in the context of recruitment is the package of psychological, economic, and functional benefits that potential employees associate with employment with a particular company. Knowledge of these perceptions can help organisations to create an attractive and competitive employer brand. Utilising information economics and signalling theory, we examine the nature and consequences of employer branding. Depth interviews reveal that job seekers evaluate: the attractiveness of employers based on any previous direct work experiences with the employer or in the sector; the clarity, credibility, and consistency of the potential employers’ brand signals; perceptions of the employers’ brand investments; and perceptions of the employers’ product or service brand portfolio.

Dynamic analysis of on-board mass data to determine tampering in heavy vehicle on-board mass systems

Transport Certification Australia Limited, jointly with the National Transport Commission, has undertaken a project to investigate the feasibility of on-board mass monitoring (OBM) devices for regulatory purposes. OBM increases jurisdictional confidence in operational heavy vehicle compliance. This paper covers technical issues regarding potential use of dynamic data from OBM systems to indicate that tampering has occurred. Tamper-evidence and accuracy of current OBM systems needed to be determined before any regulatory schemes were put in place for its use. Tests performed to determine potential for, and ease of, tampering. An algorithm was developed to detect tamper events. Its results are detailed.

Static accuracy and precision of heavy vehicle on-board mass systems

Objective • Feasibility programme for on-board mass (OBM) monitoring of heavy vehicles (HVs) • Australian road authorities through Transport Certification Australia (TCA) • Accuracy of contemporary, commercially-available OBM units in Australia • Results need to be addressed/incorporated into specifications for Stage 2 of Intelligent Access Program (IAP) by Transport Certification Australia

Theorizing about board governance of nonprofit organizations : surveying the landscape

Leading scholars on nonprofit governance have urged that future research be more informed by theory in order to promote more rigorous analysis. The aim of this paper is to survey the major theories on board governance, including those based in the disciplines of economics, management, sociology, psychology, politics, history and theology, in order to respond to this challenge. In addition, the relevance of these theories to a critical set of board behaviors - that is, how boards monitor, judge and influence organizational performance - is examined. Gaps in the theoretical literature are identified, and implications for public policy are explored. We conclude that a multi-theory and multi-disciplinary perspective is needed if research on governance of nonprofit organizations is to be complete in scope, rich in content, and relevant.