The Role of Boards in Reviewing Information Technology Governance (ITG) as Part of Organizational Control Environment Assessments

IT Governance (ITG) is an important topic as US companies must now monitor ITG under the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) (Hoffmann, 2003). Trites (2003) indicates that directors are responsible for strategic planning, internal control structures and business risk. The control environment is defined in Australian Auditing Standard AUS 402 to mean "the overall attitude, awareness and actions of management regarding internal control and its importance to the entity". This paper contributes to the knowledge of ITG by forming an integrated ITG Literature (IIL) which links prior research to four key dimensions of ITG. The paper presents a review of literature on ITG performance measurement systems which assess the ability of organizations to achieve these four ITG dimensions. A revised ITG Dimensions Model offered for consideration. The final contribution of the paper is to propose critical issues Boards should consider as part of their assessment of organizational control environments

An investigation into the motivation underlying restricted and repetitive interests and activities in autistic spectrum disorders

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Preventing Suicide in the North: developing capacity, local knowledge and skills

This report grew out of the recognition that while suicide is an outcome the circumstances and contributing factors to suicide are variable from one part of Australia to another due to regional differences and contexts. Drought, flood, unemployment, financial strain, family relationship breakdown, and commonly depression and other mental health conditions are all circumstances that are known to increase risk, as does being born into an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander family. The Northern region centred on Townsville (pop. Est. 200000) includes rural and somewhat isolated communities (e.g., Paluma with 30 residents) ranging from a few hundred residents (e.g., Ravenswood, 349), to Ayr and Home Hill in the Burdekin with about 18 to 20000 residents, and Charters Towers (est. 8300) a large proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, Palm island (est. 5000), and a military presence (including families est. >45000). This somewhat unique mix makes for greater complexity in developing a suicide prevention framework suited to this region, planning what to do, and defining the "how to" applications of suicide prevention

Who gets bullied at work? The role of emotion stability, psychological flexibility and coping in workplace bullying

Bullying costs individuals and their workplace a great deal. Considerable research has been conducted to explore the incidence and prevalence of bullying in the workplace and the negative consequences to individuals and organizations (Rammsayer, Stahl, & Schmiga, 2006). Few studies, however, have considered the individual characteristics of adults who are bullied in the workplace (Sansone & Sansone, 2015; Calvete, Orue, & Gamez-Guadix, 2016). The current study investigated personality traits, psychological flexibility, and coping styles which might contribute to victimization and workplace bullying including higher education. Of 419 participants recruited, 299 answered yes to being bullied as a child or in the workplace - 46% reported being bullied as a child and 71.6 % reported being bullied at work. The remaining 120 participants dropped out without answering, 186 participants who had experienced bullying proceeded to complete the entire study. The final distribution consisted of 75% females and 19% males between the ages of 18-65 with 70% reporting tertiary education level (i.e., over 16 years of education). Neuroticism, which is a personality trait characteristically defined by proneness to negative mood states: anxiety, angry hostility, self-consciousness, and difficulty contending with stress, was a significant predictor of maladaptive coping, psychological inflexibility in the workplace and bullying. Experiencing bullying as a child and neuroticism were significant predictors of bullying in the workplace. The higher incidence of neuroticism amongst participants who have experienced bullying in the workplace might offer a cautious explanation for the dropout rates in the current study. Future directions for effective workplace programs in higher education and research are also considered

Preventing Suicide in the North: developing capacity, local knowledge and skills

This report grew out of the recognition that while suicide is an outcome the circumstances and contributing factors to suicide are variable from one part of Australia to another due to regional differences and contexts. Drought, flood, unemployment, financial strain, family relationship breakdown, and commonly depression and other mental health conditions are all circumstances that are known to increase risk, as does being born into an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander family. The Northern region centred on Townsville (pop. Est. 200000) includes rural and somewhat isolated communities (e.g., Paluma with 30 residents) ranging from a few hundred residents (e.g., Ravenswood, 349), to Ayr and Home Hill in the Burdekin with about 18 to 20000 residents, and Charters Towers (est. 8300) a large proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, Palm island (est. 5000), and a military presence (including families est. >45000). This somewhat unique mix makes for greater complexity in developing a suicide prevention framework suited to this region, planning what to do, and defining the "how to" applications of suicide prevention

Who gets bullied at work? The role of emotion stability, psychological flexibility and coping in workplace bullying

Bullying costs individuals and their workplace a great deal. Considerable research has been conducted to explore the incidence and prevalence of bullying in the workplace and the negative consequences to individuals and organizations (Rammsayer, Stahl, & Schmiga, 2006). Few studies, however, have considered the individual characteristics of adults who are bullied in the workplace (Sansone & Sansone, 2015; Calvete, Orue, & Gamez-Guadix, 2016). The current study investigated personality traits, psychological flexibility, and coping styles which might contribute to victimization and workplace bullying including higher education. Of 419 participants recruited, 299 answered yes to being bullied as a child or in the workplace - 46% reported being bullied as a child and 71.6 % reported being bullied at work. The remaining 120 participants dropped out without answering, 186 participants who had experienced bullying proceeded to complete the entire study. The final distribution consisted of 75% females and 19% males between the ages of 18-65 with 70% reporting tertiary education level (i.e., over 16 years of education). Neuroticism, which is a personality trait characteristically defined by proneness to negative mood states: anxiety, angry hostility, self-consciousness, and difficulty contending with stress, was a significant predictor of maladaptive coping, psychological inflexibility in the workplace and bullying. Experiencing bullying as a child and neuroticism were significant predictors of bullying in the workplace. The higher incidence of neuroticism amongst participants who have experienced bullying in the workplace might offer a cautious explanation for the dropout rates in the current study. Future directions for effective workplace programs in higher education and research are also considered

Enterprise risk management and firm performance: Role of the risk committee

In recent years, there have been increasing efforts in the corporate world to invest in risk management and governance processes. In this paper, we examine the impact of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) on firm performance by examining whether firm performance is strengthened or weakened by the establishment of a board-level risk committee (BLRC), an important governance mechanism that oversees ERM processes. Based on 260 observations from FTSE350 listed firms in the UK during 2012–2015, we find the effectiveness of ERM significantly and positively affects firm performance. We also find strong BLRC governance complements this relationship and increases the firm performance effects of ERM. Our findings suggest the mere formation of a BLRC is not a panacea for ERM oversight; however, existence of a structurally strong BLRC is crucial for effective ERM governance

It is not what it seems. Heart break leads to mental health difficulties in higher education

The issue a client brings through the door is often not the issue counsellors and psychologists end up working on. Relationship break-ups are at the core of why most people seek counselling. The same is possibly true in the context of higher education. Students and staff members who seek counselling for common mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression could be in fact heart broken. A series of 15 semi-structured interviews with psychologists around Australia revealed that although relationship difficulties are one of the main reasons clients seek counselling, that is not the issue they report in the first session. The most common issues presented by clients are anxiety, depression, substance abuse, adjustment disorder, and personality disorder. Yet, a major gap in the literature exists regarding the effect of romantic relationship break-ups on the mental health of individuals. A recent meta-analysis provides evidence that both negative relationship quality and relationship break-ups are strongly associated with poor mental health outcomes. Also, it is known that one of the main obstacles in maintaining relationships is risk regulation and balance between relationship stressors and conflicting goals. It is possible that divergent academic and relationship goals might be leading to mental health difficulties in students and staff in higher education. Therefore, it is the role of counsellors and psychologists to explore the core issues a client might be experiencing underneath their initial presentation and work with them to find a balance between study, work, and love

What do psychologists have to say about self-sabotage in romantic relationships?

The term self-sabotage is not well explained in current relationship literature. Self-sabotage is thus far explained mainly as a physical barrier (i.e., derived from the effects of alcohol consumption or high level of stress; Jones & Berglas, 1978; Rhodewalt, 2008) which does not fully encompass intrinsic behaviours. In romantic relationships, the term self-sabotage is better explained as behavioural expressions of individuals’ intrapersonal struggles (Post, 1988). As it stands, a major gap in the literature exists regarding the effect of relationship break-ups on the mental health of individuals (Mirsu-Paun & Oliver, 2017). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore the theme of self-sabotage in romantic relationships as viewed by psychologists. A series of 15 semi-structured interviews with psychologists specialising in romantic relationships around Australia revealed that relationship difficulties are not always clearly identified in the counselling context and are sometimes first treated as anxiety or depression. Surface and core issues contributing to self-sabotage in romantic relationships were identified. Surface issues relate to reasons why clients present to therapy, while core issues relate to reasons why clients self-sabotage. Future studies will need to be conducted to develop a model to empirically test self-sabotage in romantic relationships

What do psychologists have to say about self-sabotage in romantic relationships?

The term self-sabotage is not well explained in current relationship literature. Self-sabotage is thus far explained mainly as a physical barrier (i.e., derived from the effects of alcohol consumption or high level of stress; Jones & Berglas, 1978; Rhodewalt, 2008) which does not fully encompass intrinsic behaviours. In romantic relationships, the term self-sabotage is better explained as behavioural expressions of individuals’ intrapersonal struggles (Post, 1988). As it stands, a major gap in the literature exists regarding the effect of relationship break-ups on the mental health of individuals (Mirsu-Paun & Oliver, 2017). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore the theme of self-sabotage in romantic relationships as viewed by psychologists. A series of 15 semi-structured interviews with psychologists specialising in romantic relationships around Australia revealed that relationship difficulties are not always clearly identified in the counselling context and are sometimes first treated as anxiety or depression. Surface and core issues contributing to self-sabotage in romantic relationships were identified. Surface issues relate to reasons why clients present to therapy, while core issues relate to reasons why clients self-sabotage. Future studies will need to be conducted to develop a model to empirically test self-sabotage in romantic relationships