International franchising success factors: A guide for Australian franchise systems. Australia is considered the most 'franchised' nation in the world. With 850 franchisors, it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. However, Australian franchises are small due to the country's limited population, with 60% of systems holding fewer than 30 units. One third of Australian franchisors now operates internationally, however little is known about how they plan an ....International franchising success factors: A guide for Australian franchise systems. Australia is considered the most 'franchised' nation in the world. With 850 franchisors, it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. However, Australian franchises are small due to the country's limited population, with 60% of systems holding fewer than 30 units. One third of Australian franchisors now operates internationally, however little is known about how they plan and implement their expansion strategies. It appears that franchisors are reacting to approaches made by overseas investors rather than proactively developing international expansion strategies. This research will examine the practices of successful exporters to develop a model of best practice for future activity in the sector.Read moreRead less
Using Mathematics to Maximize the Efficiency of Shared Infrastructure in Australia's Coal Export Supply Chain. Port Waratah Coal Services operates the world's largest coal export terminal, servicing about 14 coal mining companies in the Hunter Valley, NSW. It is responsible for around $15 billion in annual export income for Australia. The coal supply chain is a complex operation, hampered by bottlenecks in critical shared infrastructure. Such limitations are estimated to cost Australia about $2 ....Using Mathematics to Maximize the Efficiency of Shared Infrastructure in Australia's Coal Export Supply Chain. Port Waratah Coal Services operates the world's largest coal export terminal, servicing about 14 coal mining companies in the Hunter Valley, NSW. It is responsible for around $15 billion in annual export income for Australia. The coal supply chain is a complex operation, hampered by bottlenecks in critical shared infrastructure. Such limitations are estimated to cost Australia about $2 billion pa in lost sales. This project will support the design of new infrastructure and processes to ensure an efficient supply chain. The new science resulting will benefit other coal operations in Australia, and potentially other bulk goods supply chains.Read moreRead less
The role of online social networks in successful ageing: benefitting from 'who you know' at older ages. The project will increase understanding of how online social networking contributes to successful ageing through partnering, economic and voluntary activity, family and social connectedness. The findings will inform policy recommendations, social interventions and education programs designed to enhance 'ageing well, ageing productively'. These are expected to benefit the health and well-being ....The role of online social networks in successful ageing: benefitting from 'who you know' at older ages. The project will increase understanding of how online social networking contributes to successful ageing through partnering, economic and voluntary activity, family and social connectedness. The findings will inform policy recommendations, social interventions and education programs designed to enhance 'ageing well, ageing productively'. These are expected to benefit the health and well-being of older Australians, with economic benefits of increased contributions to society and fewer demands on services. Social and economic benefits are also expected from insights into reducing the technological and psychological barriers that prevent older people from benefiting from the Internet and online social networking.Read moreRead less
Stable on-demand optimization for workforce and fleet logistics management. This project aims to conceive, develop and deploy innovative methodologies for stable on-demand workforce management and fleet logistics based on advanced decision-support systems. The outcome of this project will provide a new cloud-based real-time Optimisation Software-as-a-Service (OSaaS) platform that allows businesses to improve their productivity while reducing operating costs and their environmental footprint. Thi ....Stable on-demand optimization for workforce and fleet logistics management. This project aims to conceive, develop and deploy innovative methodologies for stable on-demand workforce management and fleet logistics based on advanced decision-support systems. The outcome of this project will provide a new cloud-based real-time Optimisation Software-as-a-Service (OSaaS) platform that allows businesses to improve their productivity while reducing operating costs and their environmental footprint. This is expected to support the manufacturing, retail, delivery and mobile fleets industries.Read moreRead less
Increasing Visitor Frequency: approach to understanding and forecasting how cultural attraction visitors respond to various incentives to increase visitation rates. Museums have been steadily losing visitors over the past decade. While current research indicates that this may be attributed to greater leisure competition, little is understood about how people make choices to visit or not to visit cultural attractions. The aim of this project is to develop, demonstrate and test a Random Utility Th ....Increasing Visitor Frequency: approach to understanding and forecasting how cultural attraction visitors respond to various incentives to increase visitation rates. Museums have been steadily losing visitors over the past decade. While current research indicates that this may be attributed to greater leisure competition, little is understood about how people make choices to visit or not to visit cultural attractions. The aim of this project is to develop, demonstrate and test a Random Utility Theory (RUT)-based modelling approach allowing managers of cultural attractions to understand and predict the likely visitation consequences of potential initiatives. We wish to model visitor choices of museums versus other competing attractions to allow museums to identify specific strategic actions (or combinations) to achieve organisational goals.Read moreRead less
Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes incl ....Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes include regulatory guidance strategies and training, advances in applied regulatory theory, and innovative technology tools capturing the complexity of water regulation and supporting decision-making. This will provide public resource savings and ensure fairness and effectiveness of water compliance and enforcement.Read moreRead less
Ethnographies of housing: exploring the role of housing officers in public housing service provision. This research examines the everyday practice of public housing officers working in the Victorian Office of Housing. It aims to analyse the ways that workers exercise discretion, and the patterns of meanings that they construct, through their interactions with clients, departmental managers and other human service providers. It is the first ethnographic study of front-line work in housing servi ....Ethnographies of housing: exploring the role of housing officers in public housing service provision. This research examines the everyday practice of public housing officers working in the Victorian Office of Housing. It aims to analyse the ways that workers exercise discretion, and the patterns of meanings that they construct, through their interactions with clients, departmental managers and other human service providers. It is the first ethnographic study of front-line work in housing services in Australia and builds on comparable work done in the United Kingdom and America. The knowledge generated will inform innovation in public housing services, housing policy debates and emerging programs designed to integrate housing with other human services.Read moreRead less
The 2006 Census and Indigenous People in Remote Areas: Assessing the Quality of the Enumeration Process and Resulting Data. Rigorous assessment of the quality of census data will benefit Indigenous communities, policy makers, and researchers in the area of Indigenous policy and service delivery. Of particular note is the direct benefit to the ABS in seeking to improve their methods for enumerating remote Indigenous populations. The research directly addresses the National Research Priorities rel ....The 2006 Census and Indigenous People in Remote Areas: Assessing the Quality of the Enumeration Process and Resulting Data. Rigorous assessment of the quality of census data will benefit Indigenous communities, policy makers, and researchers in the area of Indigenous policy and service delivery. Of particular note is the direct benefit to the ABS in seeking to improve their methods for enumerating remote Indigenous populations. The research directly addresses the National Research Priorities relating to rural and remote areas and strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric because it will enhance assessment of the reliability of statistical information for social, economic and community planning in remote Indigenous communities.Read moreRead less
The Determinants and Impacts of Analyst Activity in Australian Equity Markets. Deep and liquid markets are essential ingredients to a well functioning capital market, and can assist in capital formation and the growth of firms. A rich information environment is in turn necessary to ensure liquidity and the minimisation of cost of capital. A greater understanding of what promotes a rich information environment, specifically through the activity of financial analysts, will assist in formulation ....The Determinants and Impacts of Analyst Activity in Australian Equity Markets. Deep and liquid markets are essential ingredients to a well functioning capital market, and can assist in capital formation and the growth of firms. A rich information environment is in turn necessary to ensure liquidity and the minimisation of cost of capital. A greater understanding of what promotes a rich information environment, specifically through the activity of financial analysts, will assist in formulation of policies at both the Australian Stock Exchange and individual company level, and indeed at the government level given Federal and State Government initiatives to encourage the growth of corporate Australia.Read moreRead less
Are the kids alright? Understanding the wellbeing of Australian children in their middle years. This project will produce the first comprehensive national stock-take of wellbeing among Australian children in their middle years, with a special focus on children who experience disadvantage. Findings will reflect children's views and experiences, have direct policy relevance and lay the groundwork for comparing and monitoring of child wellbeing.