Amanda J. Carter

How can tutors engage property students in controlled teaching environments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and contribution of tutors to property education. Using the theory of tutor performance which outlines six behaviours which may positively influence student outcomes, this paper considers how tutors can maximise student learning and engagement in tutorials.Design/methodology/approach – This research used a mixed methods approach including student evaluations of teaching (SETs), a survey of students and reflexive journals of a tutor in property education.Findings – This research found that conscious adoption of the behaviours recommended under the theory of tutor performance and informed by further education in the form of a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education resulted in significant improvement of SET results. Student survey responses showed the influence of “real life” experience, amongst other things, in underpinning their learning.Research limitations/implications – While this research has limitations, in terms of number of responses a...

International Corporate Sustainability Barometer – Australia

Agribusiness and mining activities for which Australia is well known are not the industries of choice for contemplating a sustainability barometer. Agribusiness uses and exports much water in its products, from the driest inhabited continent on earth. Mining removes and is heavily challenged to replace biodiversity, ecosystems, and geological structures. However, the need for sustainability management using available tools is strengthened by this very focus. Value added from the Corporate Sustainability Barometer is at a premium in these circumstances. Results reveal these differences for Australia, including the stronger focus on water management. It is sad to report that Australia lags international practice in sustainability management and companies are less aware of available tools. The Barometer and its results for corporate Australia provide a foundation for stakeholders, both internal and external, to focus on promotion, training, awareness development and incentive based policy setting towards future improvement of sustainability management.

The dual roles for accountants in sustaining rural communities

Purpose - – This paper explores the role of accountants as part of the necessary infrastructure in rural community development providing specialised knowledge and skills to business owners who may lack the expertise required to ensure successful business operations. Design/methodology/approach - – Perceptions of seven rural development officers from separate Rural Development Boards and two local governments in South Australia are canvassed through a set of interviews. Findings - – Findings challenge the notion that use of modern communication technology, which allows for accountants and their accountancy practices to be located anywhere in the world, is sufficient to fulfil their role in rural communities. Instead, a critical dual role for accountants is identified which includes a community development function. Research limitations/implications - – The research is limited by the geographic area from which the participants were selected. While this controlled for any possible jurisdictional differences between states in Australia, the participants targeted comprise only a relatively small group. Originality/value - – The paper identifies an important role for accountants in rural communities hitherto unidentified. Accountant contributions to rural development and the sustainability of rural communities is highlighted.

A cricket ground or a football stadium? The business of ground sharing at the Adelaide Oval before 1973

Abstract Before 1973, cricket and Australian Football used the Adelaide Oval for major games during their respective seasons. Football’s popularity as a spectator sport prompted its organising body to seek to build an improved stadium, but cricket authorities controlled the asset and acted to maintain its specialised character as a cricket ground. A case study of how the gains from a shared capital good are negotiated when asset controllers and users have different objectives is provided. A series of counterfactual scenarios based on football remaining at the Oval is constructed from archival sources and their outcomes projected based on data in financial reports.

Legitimizing amateur status using financial reports: Victorian Football League clubs, 1909–1912

It is generally accepted by historians that in the early twentieth century clubs in Australian Football’s Victorian Football League (VFL) made payments to “amateur” players prior to the legalization of professionalism and that such payments were not disclosed in club financial reports. Previously, financial reports have not been used to support or refute such claims. This article presents findings from a detailed examination of the financial reports and other records of six of the 10 VFL clubs for the years surrounding the legalization of professional football in 1911 (1909–1912). Prior to 1911, most clubs engaged in fraudulent financial reporting practices by misrepresenting player payments as other forms of permitted expenditures, thus concealing prohibited remunerative payments to players within their financial reports. Using isomorphic influences to explain the reasons for this misrepresentation, we conclude that the financial reports were used to legitimate the majority of clubs as amateur organizations. Competing isomorphic pressures, particularly conflicting coercive factors related to the VFL’s prohibition on player payments and normative pressures associated with increasing professionalism amongst players, contributed to clubs engaging in fraudulent financial reporting.