Perceptions of e-commerce as an academic discipline in Australian universities

This paper presents findings from a study on perceptions of e-commerce as an academic discipline in Australian universities. The study examined Australian universities\u27 perceptions on whether e-commerce should be regarded as a business-oriented discipline or a technology-oriented discipline and further whether e-commerce should be considered as a distinctive discipline. Data was collected from official websites of all Australian universities and was categorized in accordance to award titles, host faculty and program structures. Findings showed that most Australian universities perceived e-commerce as a business-oriented discipline. However, there was no consensus on whether e-commerce should be considered as a distinctive discipline.<br /

Changing Academic Environment and Diversity in Students’ Study Philosophy, Beliefs, and Attitudes in Higher Education

The diversity of students in higher education in Australia and elsewhere has changed significantly over the past two decades. The existing literature has provided limited clarity in terms of their effects on teaching and learning or on the way in which social and cultural changes shape what university students think about the teaching and learning process. Employing a large data set of survey responses from a leading Australian university, this paper provides an analysis of student perceptions of the teaching and learning process, in regard to their study philosophy, beliefs, and attitudes. Survey data were analysed in two stages. First, factor analysis was used to explore themes (or dimensions) within the survey. Multivariate analysis of variance was then undertaken using students’ factor scores as dependent variables, and age, sex, ethnicity, study discipline, study level, academic performance, and sex-ethnicity interaction as grouping variables. Three factors (Deep Learning, Expediency, and Responsibility) appeared to reflect students’ study philosophy, beliefs, and attitude toward teaching and learning. Students’ response on the three factors varied according to age, sex, ethnicity, study discipline, and academic performance, and sex-ethnicity effects. Students in business-related disciplines appeared to display greater expediency than peers in other disciplines, treating university education like any other commodity.

Explaining Diversity in Students’ Views and Expectations about Teaching and Learning Process in Higher Education

This paper provides a quantitative analysis of student perceptions in regard to their views and expectations about the purpose of university study. Over 800 survey responses from students attending a leading Australian university forms the empirical basis. Factor analysis was used to explore themes (or dimensions) based on data collected via a paper-and-pencil survey. Multivariate analysis of variance was then undertaken using students’ factor scores as dependent variables, and age, sex, ethnicity, study discipline, study level, and academic performance as grouping variables. Four factors (Approach to Teaching, Active Participation, Communication and Feedback, and Clarity of Focus and Purpose) reflected students’ views and expectations about the university teaching and learning process. These labels typified behaviour that reflected students’ keen interest in the lecturer’s teaching approach, active participation in the teaching and learning process, and the lecturers’ responsiveness to students’ needs. In turn, students’ perceived views about and expectations were affected by their sex, ethnicity, study discipline, level of study, sex-ethnicity interaction.

Tertiary Performance, Field of Study and Graduate Starting Salaries

This paper analyses data from the University of Western Australia (UWA) Graduate Destination Survey linked to information from the University’s Student Records System to explore the determinants of graduates’ starting salaries over the years 2002 to 2004. While the details examined also include age, gender, language spoken at home, country of birth, disability status and high school attended, most emphasis is placed on the impact on starting salaries of students’ academic performance and their field of study. The analyses show that the main determinant of graduates’ starting salaries is the weighted average mark they achieve at university. The salary differentials associated with higher marks in the Australian labour market appear greater than those reported in similar studies of the United States and United Kingdom labour markets. Science graduates are shown to have relatively low starting salaries, casting a shadow over recent suggestions that the supply of this group be increased through lower fee regimes.Starting Salaries, Ability, Field of Study

Labour Market Under-Utilisation of Recent Higher Education Graduates: New Australian Panel Evidence

Recent research into the Australian labour market has reported that a substantial proportion of the tertiary-educated labour force is under-utilised relative to their level of education, echoing findings from an expanding international literature. This paper uses recent panel data from the 2010 Beyond Graduation Survey to analyse the incidence of labour force under-utilisation amongst recent Australian graduates and its effect on their wages, with an under-utilised graduate defined as a one who is in a job for which a sub-degree qualification would suffice. We find that 26% of graduates were under-utilised immediately after course completion and 15% were under-utilised three years later, although this varied considerably between subgroups. Recent graduates were much more likely to remain under-utilised than become under-utilised later in their careers. Being under-utilised appears to affect the earnings of different graduate age groups in different ways. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, we find that younger graduates tend to earn the same mean wages regardless of whether or not they are under-utilised, while older under-utilised bachelor degree graduates are at a significant wage disadvantage relative to their peers. This is suggestive of a graduate skills surplus and, by extension, inefficient public and individual investment in human capital.graduate labour market, human capital, panel data

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Is academic economics withering in Australia?

Abstract: Departments of economics in Australia have not fared well recently. Many have been closed, merged or relocated, their staff made redundant while economics degrees and majors have been eliminated. This article tries to understand why academic economics appears to be withering in this country, or at least increasingly concentrated in Group of Eight (Go8) universities, and what if anything can still be done to preserve what is left

A study of the impacts of variable factors on built environment graduates’ prospects

This paper investigates the impacts of variable factors, such as practical experience and factors related to study style, on employment outcomes and patterns of built environment graduates in Australia. This paper also compares the employment prospects of different built environment sub-disciplines, including Architecture, Construction, Real Estate and Urban Planning and Regional Studies. Practical experience and the possibility of work with final year employers after graduation were found to have a statistically significant impact on the employment outcomes for graduates of built environment and all of its sub-disciplines. However, degree level and type of university attended were not found to have a statistically significant impact. Attendance type and employment mode in the final year of study had a statistically significant impact on the employment patterns for graduates of built environment and all of its sub-disciplines. The graduates who studied part-time and worked full-time in their final year of study were more likely to secure full-time jobs after graduation. The findings of this paper can be used by built environment graduates to identify the variable factors which they can change in order to enhance their employment prospects