Conference Papers

Occupational Load Carriage: Formal and Informal Conditioning

Rob Orr — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:24:39 PDT

Movement Orientated Training for the Kinetic and Cyber Warrior

Rob Orr — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:54:07 PDT

The highs and lows of unbalanced bidding models

David Cattell — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:34:42 PDT

The unbalanced bidding models developed in the first 50 years, since Marvin Gates first invented them in 1956, have suffered from a significant common flaw. Typically designed as linear programming models, with the objective being to maximise the contractor’s profits from a project, they have incorporated constraints on the prices for each of the items such that they are each bound by lower and upper limits. The intent of this was to find optimum prices falling somewhere within these limits. Instead, the effect of these models has been that all optimal prices (barring only one) are found to lie exactly on the extreme edge of these limits. In effect then, these models serve only to decide which items should be assigned their lowest acceptable price, and which items should be assigned their highest acceptable price. Tests done on a series of simulated hypothetical projects, created randomly by way of an automated process, illustrate this effect, which has previously not being observed. This effect is suggested as being undesirable – these pricing boundaries are vague and heuristically difficult to determine and hence relatively ‘soft’ in nature, rather than being inelastic and hard-and-fast. The risks - that these limits are designed to avoid – are not of the nature that they are incurred (fully) marginally beyond these limits and yet not incurred at all within the limits. Nevertheless, even though these boundaries are only vaguely definable by nature, these models do somehow need to acknowledge that extreme prices are unacceptable and normal (‘central’) prices are fine. This problem has been solved with the use of component unit pricing (CUP) theory.

Using Bayesian Networks to assess the risk appetite of construction contractors

David Cattell — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:13:53 PDT

The pricing of items of construction work using Component Unit Pricing (CUP) Theory requires that contractors have to assess and quantify their risk profiles. Those contractors with a willingness to take on greater risks can then be rewarded with a prospect of greater profits. CUP Theory provides a basis by which this can be accomplished by way of the manner and extent to which contractors spread their overall bid prices amongst all of the constituent component item prices. Conversely, this theory also facilitates that contractors who are wanting to moderate their exposure to risk are able to do so, independently of any adjustment they might choose to make to their overall mark-ups. Contractors are, however, typically unaware of their risk profiles and will not have had these assessed. There are no universally accepted or popular methods established for the assessment of the risk profiles of firms operating within the construction industry.

Bayesian networking is gaining popularity in the financial management arena as a sophisticated statistical approach for the assessment and management of risks. It is envisaged that it might serve well for evaluating and explaining contractors’ risk profiles as well as facilitate a process by which these can be reviewed and modified in line with inevitable changes over time.

This paper serves to outline this idea which is becoming the subject of on-going research

Constitutionalised racism: Why Australia needs its own Section 6

Danielle Ireland-Piper — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:55:38 PST

Development through sport: Fans and critics of the new player on the field

Danielle Ireland-Piper — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:33:38 PST

Literature on international aid and development espouses the principle of ‘do no harm’. In that context, there has been an increased interest in, and incident of, Development through Sport (DTS) initiatives. As with all new players in an old game, the DTS movement has both its fans, and critics. This paper seeks to acknowledge the benefits advocated by fans; engage with its critics; and propose means by which to reconcile the two. In so doing, the distinction is made between ‘Sport Development’, and ‘Development through Sport’. The paper concludes that goodwill, while commendable, is not enough achieve sustainable development goals. Willingly or otherwise, the reality is that DTS operates in a highly politicised environment. Therefore, the DTS movement must engage with the broader development community, and embrace best practice mechanisms. The recipient community must be given an element of ownership and responsibility, and donors should deliver programs in a culturally appropriate manner. Ultimately, the DTS movement must take on board and consider the constructive criticism being offered. However, it should not be discouraged by each and every naysayer. DTS can move forward in its own right, and in its own way, while still embracing the broader discourse on development practice and delivery.

The consumer experience of holidays booked via Daily Deal promotions: An online content analysis of traveller reviews

Carmen Cox — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:49:39 PST

While Daily Deal accommodation promotions through sites such as LivingSocial, Groupon, Scoopon, Ouffer and Cudo have become increasingly popular amongst industry operators and travellers alike, there is limited research about the extent to which they satisfy the end-users expectations. Consumers‟ self-reported evaluations of accommodation promotions sold through Daily Deal sites are analysed in this paper based on a content analysis of more than 500 online reviews submitted to TripAdvisor® by travellers who had purchased a ‘daily deal voucher’ to be used across a variety of Australian properties. The results find that while the majority of reviewers rated their stay experience positively and that many recommend the property to others, their own return was questionable without a similar deal.

Motivating ESL learners to speak in English through drama: Adopting identities

Chamkaur Gill — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:08:55 PST

Teaching strategic thinking in management education

Ingrid Bonn — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:26:51 PST

Motivational changes and their affecting factors among students from different cultural backgrounds

Masanori Matsumoto — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:39:03 PST

University students (N = 140) learning second or foreign languages in Australia were investigated to find whether their learning experience in a 12-week course changes their motivational intensity and their perceptions of classroom factors affecting their motivation. The study also attempted to detect any differences among the students from four different cultural/regional backgrounds; Europe & North America, North East Asia including China, Taiwan, Korea & Japan, Australia & New Zealand, and the rest. Questionnaire surveys were conducted twice, at the beginning and the end of the courses on the students learning English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese to observe how their learning experiences affect their motivations and if they come to perceive the affecting factors differently. Results showed some significant differences in motivational intensity among the groups and also after the learning experience. The results identified the learning experience has either beneficial or detrimental influences on motivation and can alter the students’ perceptions of affecting factors. The study claims that students’ cultural and/or regional backgrounds can be an important factor to validate the discussion about motivation and also the learning experience may affect learners’ perceptions in different ways, depending on where the learners come from, where they learn what target languages.