Investigation of the interaction between risk types in the outsourcing of the information technology function

Describes a new theory of behaviour of risks in an information technology (IT) outsourcing exercise. A framework developed during the study allows practioners and managers to allay anxieties about managing uncertainty from risks that manifest when multiple parties interact over long periods of time in this environment.

Australian women learning information technology skills in the workplace

This thesis investigated gender, learning and equity within the context of women learning IT skills in Australian workplaces. The research identified women's training needs and responses when attending IT classes and found that many women in the workplace grapple with issues of social conditioning predicated on common perceptions of IT being aligned with a masculine culture.

Paradigmatic approach to managing complexity in knowledge-driven marketing

This research develops a measure of Customer Lifetime Value, extending existing measures, that provides organisations having large customer databases the means to place a financial value on customers. Using this measure, new models are developed that provide a framework to use knowledge to drive marketing decisions.

Intra-ASEAN FDI : trend, determinants and analytical issues

One of the significant economic developments in the Asia Pacific region during the 1980's has been the phenomenal increase in intra-ASEAN foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. There are two types of intra-ASEAN FDI flows : out-sourcing and the opportunity to gain access to the host country's modern infrastructural and information network.

Climate change in the Victorian Alps : can VET be a change agent?

Of all the factors contributing to turbulent times in Australia, climate change is one that offers both challenges and opportunities for VET. In a time when the response to water availability is subject to ‘extensive debate and policy attention’, our presentation explores what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand about the changes to water availability, and what they have learned about adapting to significant climatic changes in their local area. Interviews were conducted in the towns of Bright, Mount Beauty and Albury, with participants from across the Alpine region. Our study found evidence of a strong understanding of the direct impact of climate change on participants’ local community area, and a keen desire to learn about adaptation to change. In addition to an identified need for more information around climate change issues and projected impacts in general, participants saw practical hands-on water education strategies as an important way to educate people to help themselves. Conversations about where or how people learned to adapt to change were broad ranging, and clearly connected to the participants’ backgrounds, livelihoods or where they were situated. This raised the question of what responses VET might develop to address these identified learning needs. Major local industries
of tourism, agriculture, water harvesting and land care are all covered by national Training Packages that include industry- specific units of competence to support learning to live and work in an environmentally sustainable way. In addition, the national Employability Skills framework offers opportunities to build climate change awareness and adaptation into units of competency where they may not be explicitly incorporated. Our presentation will outline the opportunities for VET to act as a change agent in this and other Australian communities impacted by climate change.

Media pressures and corporate disclosure of social responsibility performance information : a study of two global clothing and sports retail companies

This paper investigates the social and environmental disclosure practices of two large multinational companies, specifically Nike and Hennés & Mauritz. Utilising a joint consideration of legitimacy theory and media agenda setting theory, we investigate the linkage between negative media attention, and positive corporate social and environmental disclosures. Our results generally support a view that for those industry-related social and environmental issues attracting the greatest amount of negative media attention, these corporations react by providing positive social and environmental disclosures. The results were particularly significant in relation to labour practices in developing countries - the issue attracting the greatest amount of negative media attention for the companies in question.

Subjective wellbeing and families : issues of measurement and data interpretation

Since April 2001 we have been monitoring the Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) of the Australian population using the Personal Wellbeing Index. Our aims are to establish normative values and to identify people with abnormally low SWB. Each of 18 surveys has involved a new sample of 2,000 people, randomly chosen but representing the geographical distribution of the population. The data are remarkable for their stability, with the variation in population mean scores being just 3.2 percentage points. The cause of such high reliability is Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis. Here, in a manner analogous to the management of body temperature, the SWB for each person is normally held positive and within a narrow set-point range. However, all homeostatic systems have a limited capacity to absorb challenge and when aversive experiences are both strong and sustained, homeostasis fails. If this occurs, people lose their normal positive view of themselves and become depressed. Therefore, the second aim of these studies is to reveal the demographic character of families in distress, who are in need of additional resources. Our data reveal the extent to which family structure and responsibilities impact on wellbeing. They also yield important diagnostic information about individuals, and point to SWB as a crucial measure of intervention outcome. In sum, the Personal Wellbeing Index is a simple, reliable and valid measure of SWB. The measures it yields are theoretically embedded, they can be compared against solid normative data, and their interpretation is enhanced through an understanding of SWB homeostasis.

Micro-blogging in the workplace

Micro-blogging services such as Twitter, Yammer, Plurk and Google Buzz have generated substantial interest among members of the business community in recent years. Many CEOs, managers and front-line employees have embraced micro-blogs as a tool for interacting with colleagues, employees, customers, suppliers and investors. Micro-blogs are considered a more informal channel than emails and official websites, and thus present a different set of challenges to businesses. As a positional paper, this paper uses a case study of a bogus Twitter account to emphasise security and ethical issues relating to (i) Trust, Accuracy and Authenticity of Information, (ii) Privacy and Confidentiality, and (iii) Scams and Frauds, when micro-blogs are used in the workplace. It also highlights the potential risks businesses are exposed to if employees use micro-blogs irresponsibly. The paper contributes to practice by providing suggestions on managing security and ethical risks associated with micro-blogging in the workplace. It contributes to research by building on existing research in trust and data privacy in electronic communication.

Information security disclosure : a Victorian case study

This paper will focus upon the impact of Generation Y and their attitudes to security. The paper will be based around discussing the findings of a recent report by the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) on “Information Security and the Victoria Police State Surveillance Unit”.
Issues that will be discussed include the context of Generation Y and how they contribute to the case study, their attitudes, or their perceived attitudes to security of information. A discussion of the OPI report itself, and the issues that have arisen. A brief overview of the key findings within this report and the implications of these findings.

Placing parks on the tourism agenda : promoting Melbournes' metropolitan parks to metropolitan and regional Victorian visitors

This study establishes a strategy aimed at raising interest in visiting Melbourne’s metropolitan parks based upon interviews and focus group responses in both regional Victoria and Melbourne. As the majority of regional visitors planning a short-break collect their information prior to departure, park information needs to be available before they embark. Whilst visiting Melbourne, regional visitors agreed that they would utilise local knowledge of their host to fill any of their limited spare time. Melbournians should be seen as a potential prime source of information for visitors, but this study found that many Melburnians were often unaware of local attractions. Consequently, part of the strategy to raise interest in visiting Melbourne’s parks must be targeted at Melburnians. This leads to the conclusion that a well informed host is the key to increased visitation
to metropolitan parks.

How information technology can support family law and mediation

In Australia, before a divorcing couple can have their case heard by the Family Court, they must undertake mediation. Thus it is useful to develop information technology tools to support negotiation and mediation in family law. Most negotiation support systems focus upon integrative bargaining. In doing so, they tend to ignore issues of fairness. In Australian Family Law, the interests of the children, as opposed to those of their parents/guardians, are paramount. We investigate the use of providing BATNAs and integrative bargaining in providing family mediation decision support. The discussion is highlighted with examples taken from the domain of Australian Family Law

Managing negotiation knowledge with the goal of developing negotiation decision support systems

While Information Technology has been used to support negotiation there is little research in the domain of knowledge management in legal negotiation. In this paper we discuss the nature of negotiation knowledge and how such knowledge can be utilized to construct negotiation decision support systems. We conduct an in-depth examination of the notion of a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and given a useful BATNA, how we can use issue and preference elicitation and compensation and trade-off strategies to provide negotiation decision support. We conclude by indicating how current negotiation support systems can be extended to support Online Dispute Resolution and haw we can extend the Family_Winner system in light of the need to more adequately manage negotiation knowledge.

Incorporating both positive and negative association rules into the analysis of outbound tourism in Hong Kong

This article presents a novel approach to data mining that incorporates both positive and negative association rules into the analysis of outbound travelers. Using datasets collected from three large-scale domestic tourism surveys on Hong Kong residents' outbound pleasure travel, different sets of targeted rules were generated to provide promising information that will allow practitioners and policy makers to better understand the important relationship between condition attributes and target attributes. This article will be of interest to readers who want to understand methods for integrating the latest data mining techniques into tourism research. It will also be of use to marketing managers in destinations to better formulate strategies for receiving outbound travelers from Hong Kong, and possibly elsewhere.