Transacting with citizens: Australian government policy, strategy and implementation of online tax lodgement

Many governments have shown leadership in encouraging their citizenry to conduct transactions on-line. The policies that underpin these initiatives refer to a blend of civic benefits and efficiency goals. They combine the rhetoric of customer service with social shaping through ‘government as model user’ and procedures that require online activities. Many initiatives are described as ‘electronic service delivery’, terms that indicate an intention to provide much more than an additional channel for government interaction with citizens. Australia, as an innovator in eGovernment is a good example of this approach and its national government has specified policy goals for its online strategy. In this paper we examine the case of one Australian online delivery initiative, electronic tax lodgement (e-tax) and consider how well that initiative has met the policy goals of the government. Combining insights from Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory and political analysis, we outline potential difficulties that governments face in implementing ESD initiatives. Our conclusion from this case study is that the provision of good technology is only a small part of the ESD challenge. It shows how success of an ESD implementation may yield contradictory outcomes in terms of overall eGovernment strategies. This case highlights the need for long-term
implementation plans and integration of initiatives with broader government strategy.

An investigation of scale economies and quality issues in the teaching and management of large subjects

Many in the tertiary education system have had concerns with the issues surrounding the teaching of large classes, including teaching quality and whether there are effective learning outcomes for students. An issue closely related to quality is the cost of providing an efficacious education system. It is a common perception that large classes are economical to run and small subjects are not. As with any complex issue there are several perspectives that could be utilised, the needs of the institution, the teaching staff, the community or the students, and whether or not these needs are being met.

This study aims to assess whether universities are meeting the needs of students in large marketing classes. For this purpose the study investigates the application of selfdetermination theory and psychological needs satisfaction. The basic needs scale, comprising of three constructs; Control, Competence and Caring was adapted and used to evaluate students' perception of an introductory marketing subject.

The study used a multi-method approach consisting of a literature review, a qualitative phase involving in-depth interviews and focus groups. A survey of 366 students who had undertaken an introductory level marketing subject in a large class format was also conducted. The results show that the psychological needs satisfaction of many students are not being fully realised. It was also found that marketing degree students enjoyed the challenges and were more stimulated by the subject (than students in other degree streams). The higher achieving students enjoyed the challenge of the subject more than the lower achieving students. The implications of these findings and suggestions for
further investigation are discussed.

Critical infrastructure protection, modelling and management: an Australian commercial case study

This research extends upon the previous work of Pye and Warren (2005) and presents a refinement of the previously proposed critical infrastructure model to enhance further our understanding and apprecication of where the likely inter-play and existance of dependency relationships between infrastructures coexist.

These associations are presented as a number of linkages that exist within each sector of Australia'a critical infrastructure, which is then extended further to the modelling of dependency inter-relationships that exist between critical infrastructures itilising Petri Nets.  The recognition and identification of such reliance relationships between critical infrastructures is necessary to allow both infrastructure owners and the government to identify and effectively manage and maintain the security, stability and availability of their particular critical infrastructure against potential scenario driven effects.  These issues are reflected within a case study as modelled using the Petri Net approach to encapsulate the issues of reliance relationships by drawing upon an Australian commercial case study.

International comparisons of rural-urban educational attainment : data and determinants

We study cross-country differences in rural and urban educational attainment by using a data set comprising 56 countries. We focus on the determinants of rural–urban educational inequality, which is measured by the ratio of rural to urban average years of schooling within each country. We find that riskier human capital investment, less credit availability, a colonial heritage, a legal system of French origin and landlockedness of nations are all associated with relatively lower rural educational levels and greater rural–urban educational inequality. Conversely, larger formal labor markets, better infrastructure and a legal system of British origin are associated with relatively higher rural educational levels and lower rural–urban educational inequality. We also identify an interaction effect between economic development level and some of these factors. In particular, we find that as development level increases, the negative (positive) relationship between French (British) legal systems and rural–urban educational inequality is reversed and becomes positive (negative).

Knowledge management in a major construction firm in Tawian: a case study-examining the impacts of KM initiatives within the firm.

This paper addresses knowledge management (KM) in a project management organisation through a case study. The case study organisation is a small- edium sized Taiwanese-owned construction company (staff size of approximately 50) with an annual turnover of approximately TWD50 (AUD$1.85) billion. Approximately one half of the company comprised project-related staff (e.g. construction project management, project documentation, estimation, procurement, and design), while the other comprised administrative and business-related staff (e.g. office administration and management, business development, and finance and accounting). The researcher undertook a series of surveys and one-on-one interviews whilst ‘embedded’ for several months with the organisation. As part of a larger research project, this case study was one of four case studies conducted in major construction organisations in Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia. The study revealed the recognition, importance and commitment of organisational culture to KM, and the effects the knowledge management initiatives have on the organisation’s ability to manage knowledge across its projects and deliver the projects at various ‘levels’ of the organisation (individual, project, departmental, and corporate). It concludes that a technologically and functionally sound KM infrastructure does not necessarily assure an organisation with a capability to manage knowledge. Organisations need to ensure that the KM repository is made up of quality and relevant contents (not just quantity), and that corporate culture (especially the willingness of individuals to share what they know) is a critical determining factor to the organisation’s ability to share, apply and create knowledge (i.e. low sharing capability leads to low application and creation capabilities).

Are knowledge management infrastructructures capable of managing knowledge?: Case study of a major construction firm in Taiwan

This paper addresses knowledge management (KM) in a project management organisation through a case study.

The case study organisation is a small-medium sized Taiwanese-owned construction company (staff size of approximately 50) with an annual turnover of approximately TWD50 (AUD$1.85) billion. Approximately one half of the company comprised project-related staff (e.g. construction project management, project documentation, estimation, procurement, and design), while the other comprised administrative and business-related staff (e.g. office administration and management, business development, and finance and accounting).

The researcher undertook a series of surveys and one-on-one interviews whilst ‘embedded’ for several months with the organisation. This study is part of an on-going international comparison involving major construction organisations in Singapore, Australia, and Taiwan.

This study examines the recognition, importance and commitment of organisational culture to KM, and the effects the knowledge management initiatives have on the organisation’s ability to manage knowledge across its projects and deliver the projects at various ‘levels’ of the organisation (individual, project, departmental, and corporate).

It concludes that a technologically and functionally sound KM infrastructure did not necessarily assure that an organisation had a capability to manage knowledge. Organisations need to ensure that their KM repository is made up of relevant and quality contents (not just quantity), and that corporate culture (especially the willingness of individuals to share what they know) is a critical determining factor to the organisation’s ability to share, apply and create knowledge (i.e. low sharing capability leads to low application and creation capabilities).

Quality of life indexes for national policy: review and agenda for research

A number of governments and public policy institutes have developed ldquoQuality of Life Indexesrdquo – statistics that attempt to measure the quality of life for entire states or regions. We develop 14 criteria for determining the validity and usefulness of such QOL indexes to public policy. We then review 22 of the most-used QOL indexes from around the world. We conclude that many of the indexes are successful in that they are reliable, have established time series measures, and can be disaggregated to study subpopulations. However, many fall short in four areas: (1) indexes vary greatly in their coverage and definitions of domains of QOL, (2) none of the indexes distinguish among the concepts of input, throughput, and output that are used by public policy analysts, (3) they fail to show how QOL outputs are sensitive to public policy inputs, and (4) none have examined convergent validity against each other. We conclude that many of these indexes are potentially very useful for public policy and recommend research to further improve them.

The mental health Risk Assessment and Management Process (RAMP) for schools: II. Process evaluation

The Risk Assessment and Management Process (RAMP) is a whole-school process for the assessment and management of student’s mental health and wellbeing in primary and secondary schools. A process evaluation revealed that RAMP was implemented as intended across six primary and three secondary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Using the RAMP risk and protective factors monitoring form and screening processes, each school identified ‘at-risk’ students who had not previously been identified or received assistance from welfare staff at the school. School staff and mental health workers from local agencies reported improvements in their knowledge of risk and protective factors, and their ability to identify at-risk students following RAMP. They also reported satisfaction in outcomes for at-risk students managed within the school using RAMP. All the primary schools and one of the
secondary schools continued to use some RAMP processes in their school up to 6 months after the initial implementation of the program.

Conservation and management of hydromyine rodents in Victoria, Australia

Of the 15 species of native rodents recorded from Victoria, Australia, six became extinct within 70 years of European settlement, and two of the remaining nine are classified as ‘threatened’ and four are classified as ‘near threatened’. Thus, only three species are considered to be adequately conserved. This represents one of the most dramatic mammalian species declines recorded in Australia. All the threatened species belong to the subfamily Hydromyinae, the Australian ‘old endemics’. Of the extinct species, four were recorded only from the semi-arid north-west of the state and two from dry woodlands in the central and southern regions. The two  endangered species are the smoky mouse, which has a disjunct distribution from near-coastal to sub-alpine habitats, and the New Holland mouse, which is the most geographically restricted species. Discovered in Victoria only in 1970, it has become extinct at several locations and is the subject of a major recovery program that includes captive breeding and reintroduction. Conservation protocols and practices for Victoria’s native rodents are implemented under state legislation, but lack of basic ecological information makes their conservation a difficult task.

Competition law and policy : cases and materials

This book evaluates Australian competition law including the economics and politics that lay at its heart. This fully revised second edition draws together a comprehensive collection of material providing an excellent and up-to-date guide to Australian competition law.