Research Matters
Achievements & Awards
Congratulations to the following:
Professors Peter Steane and John Rodwell
Professors Peter Steane and John Rodwell have secured an AusAID grant entitled,
Developing Research Leadership Skills in a Philippines University. The grant commences
July 2012; and AusAID’s contribution is $241,641. The project is recognised as Category 2
research funds by DIISR. After research outputs are reconciled in the HERDC process, this
grant will improve ACU’s research funding profile.
The project places ACU Business in a strong
position for securing AusAID PhD scholarships in
the medium-term and ultimately UNDP capacity
building funding in the longer-term. The overall
value to ACU is significant.
Senior academics (Fellows), deemed as the next generation of university leaders, will
engage in research projects related to their disciplines and research policy. Numerous
research outputs are planned, as well as an international conference, book, etc. Professors
Steane and Rodwell are Chief Investigators and will oversee the range of guest speakers
and experts, from within ACU and from around Australia, during the program.
The Research Fellows are from Ateneo de Manila University and will visit ACU for two
fortnight periods in late October 2012 and April 2013. Ateneo de Manila University is a Jesuit
university and the John Gokongwei School of Management is a full member of the
International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS). ACU Business was confirmed
as an affiliate member of IAJBS in 2011 and is now a member of Colleagues of Jesuit
Business Education (CJBE). The IAJBS is a prestigious group including: Georgetown,
Loyola, Fordham, ESADE, XLRI, FuJen, etc., which provides us with a partnership cohort for
building stronger research and exchange relations.
Further links between ACU and Ateneo de Manila will be reinforced during the ALA Fellows
Program, especially in developing ongoing research in areas of health management and
Public-NGO joint projects, community engagement activities, and exchange arrangements
and joint programs.
Dr Sebastian Krook
We are pleased to announce that Sebastian has successfully
completed his PhD. His thesis Mystery Shopping with Foucault: an
Exploration of Managerial Power and Surveillance in the Age of
Customer Sovereignty reports the findings from interviews with employees who have
experienced mystery shopping. Mystery shopping is a common tool used to evaluate
customer service delivery in retail and hospitality sectors, yet little research exists on how
employees feel about being subjected to this evaluation technique. Using the theoretical
contributions of Michel Foucault, the study engages with notions of power, subjectivity and
resistance, and lends voice to a group that is often excluded from management research. In
this way, the study makes a contribution to our understanding of employee resistance and
the disciplinary effects of customer service excellence.
Dr Al Marshall
Al recently won a Marketing Education Track Best Paper Award
at British Academy of Marketing Conference which was held at
Southampton University in early July. His paper was An
international Comparison of Marketing Student Approaches to
Learning and Studying.
Abstract: This study focuses on identifying the similarities and
differences between international student’s and domestic
marketing student’s approaches to learning and studying.
Specifically, it focuses on French marketing students, Australian marketing students, and
French marketing students studying in Australia. There is relatively little prior literature
comparing students’ learning and studying approaches across cultures, and in reflecting this,
an exploratory qualitative methodology was utilised. 30 in-depth interviews with marketing
students were conducted in France and Australia at two universities, with a self-completion
ratings scale also utilised. Three research questions were addressed. A number of
important differences between the three cohorts of marketing students were identified, in
part reflecting the fact that the higher education systems in France and Australia are very
different from each other. Similarities were also identified, underlining the fact that French
and Australian marketing students are both culturally grounded in a Western Christian
tradition of knowledge and learning. The findings also indicate that international marketing
students can make changes in their approaches to learning and studying, indicating that
these approaches are not fixed.
Al will also be presenting his paper entitled 'Offline & Online Media Utilised by Generation Y
in Product Information Searching', at the British Academy of Management Conference in
Cardiff on 11-13 September. In addition, he will be conducting a Workshop Session entitled
'Ethnography & Modern Business: Finding the Competitive Edge'. This draws on Al's
experience in using ethnography in marketing research projects.
Dr Sugumar Mariappanadar is to be congratulated for his paper ‘Harm of
efficiency oriented HRM practices on stakeholders: an ethical issue for
sustainability’, Society and Business Review, 2102, Vol. 7, Iss: 2, pp. 168
– 184.
Girija Krishnaswamy also is to be congratulated for her co-authored
article: Krishnaswamy, G & Marinova, D 2012, ‘Free and Open Source
Software (FOSS) in Education – IT@School Project, Kerala, Region of
India’, Journal of Free Software & Free Knowledge, Vol 1, No 1, pp. 1-7.
Faculty Grants
Congratulations to the following recipients of the recent Faculty Grants:
Mini Research Grants
Dr Thuy-Linh Nguyen: How Relevant Are Our Business Courses To The Industry – a
Student Perspective.
Dr Sugumar Mariappanadar: An empirical study on the harm of HRM practices on
employees’ perceived personal social and health outcomes.
Developmental Grants:
Christopher D’Souza also received partial support to facilitate the presentation of his paper
entitled End-user friendly UI modelling language for creation and supporting evolution of RIA
at The 7th International Conference on Software Paradigm Trends to be held in Rome in
July 2012.
Research Seminars Series
A big “Thank you” to all those who have been actively involved and who have agreed to
present at the Seminar Series this year! There are still available slots, please email your
interest to audry.concisom@acu.edu.au.
2012
February 1
February 8
The impact of Buddhism on culturally
indigenous Sri Lankan management practices
Sustainable HRM: A perspective to counter
the harms of efficiency focused organisational
practices
February 29
An International Comparison of Marketing
Student Approaches to Learning & Studying
March 7
Nurse Perceptions of the Blurring of Work in
Hospitals Across Sectors
March 21
Extending A Bullying Model To Investigate
The Antecedents Of Workplace Aggression
Among Nurses
Lakshman Welivitya
Dr Sugumar
Mariappanadar
Dr Al Marshall
Prof. John Rodwell
Defne Demir
April 11
Toward Effective Corporate Governance
System: Time for Government Intervention
Mohammad Shbeilat &
May 23
Change Management in the Not-For-Profit
Sector
David Rosenbaum
June 6
The workplace bullying of trainees and its
effects
Dr Darcy McCormack
June 20
Nurse perceptions of the impact of demands
and resources on wellbeing, satisfaction and
commitment
Prof. John Rodwell
July 18
Enhancing Empowerment in Social Life
Networks
Tamara Ginige
July 25
The Various Forms of Primary Health Care
Organisations in Australia
Andre Gulyas
October 17
TBA
Dr. Charles Hollis
November 7
The Road to Ephesus: Cross Cultural Lived
Experience
Dr Nasir Butrous &
Ellen McBarron
November 14
TBA
Girija Krishnaswamy
Waleed Abdel-Qader
Welcome to new HDR
Mr Abdi Esse, a PhD candidate started as a full-time student at our Melbourne campus on
14 June 2012. Abdi has a Master’s of Business from Victoria University, whilst his
Bachelors and Master of Commerce are from the University of Poona, India. His PhD will be
around the area of socially responsible investing. Abdi will be supervised by Professor Don
Ross and Dr Bulend Terzioglu.
Grants/Funding
ACU Resubmission Funding Support Scheme (ACURFSS)
The purpose of the ACURFSS is to recognise and support excellent research in
ARC/NHMRC Category 1 grants by ACU academic staff members.
The ACU
Resubmission Funding Support Scheme (ACURFSS) simultaneously recognises ACU
Academic research staffs that have been deemed to be in the top 25% of unsuccessful
ARC/ NHMRC Category 1 grants and will assist them in a practical way by providing
funds to increase their competitiveness standing in a subsequent Category 1 grant
submission.
For more information see:
http://www.acu.edu.au/about_acu/research/staff/awards_and_grants/acu_grants/
International Educational Association of Australia (IEAA)
IEAA is pleased to announce that applications for the Tony Adams Fund are now open.
The fund aims to continue the work of Professor Tony Adams, who was a
revered leader and highly-regarded mentor to many people working in international
education. He was also IEAA's Foundation President.
Annual financial grants are available to staff working in the industry to pursue
professional development and research in international education. Applications are
open to individuals from Australia and overseas in the following categories:
 Professional Development
Grants are open to staff who wish to pursue professional development activity- related
to international education. Individual grants are available for up to AUD$1,500.
 Research in International Education
Research grants are available for those undertaking research in international
education. Grants are available for up to AUD$3,000 for research projects or
AUD$1,500 for each year of a doctoral study (up to three years).
How to apply
Application information and selection criteria is online at
www.ieaa.org.au/tonyadamsfund.
(Applicants do not have to be members of IEAA.)
Applications close Friday 31 August 2012. Successful applicants will be announced at
the
Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) in October 2012.
Call for Papers
Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (ACERE)
Conference 2013 – Brisbane, Australia, 6-8 February 2013
Deadline for Abstracts; 19 August 2012
India Strategy Forum – New Delhi, India: 30-31 October 2012
Deadline for Papers: 15 August 2012
Interesting finds
Open access journals to avoid:
Metadata - Filed
under 'Predatory open-access journals'.pdf
New Research Development Grant
Applications for the New Research Development Grant are now open. Please refer to the
guidelines and form attached for further information. All applications must have the approval
of the Head/Deputy Head of School prior to submission to audry.concisom@acu.edu.au.
Application closes midday 12 September 2012.