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Isolates factors influencing choice of Australia as a preferred destination for international students in emerging regional markets. Uses data obtained from a survey of students in Indonesia and Taiwan to estimate a U.S./Australia and rest-of-world/Australia discrete destination-choice model. This model identifies key factors determining country choice. (12 references) (MLH)

There has been considerable debate in Australia concerning the social and economic effects of telecommunications carrier investment in broadband network infrastructure. Whether particular groups within networked communities are unable or unwilling to subscribe to broadband services is an important policy issue. This paper sets out to identify metropolitan households that are less likely to subscribe to services and examines whether there exists a systematic link between subscription interest and measures of social disadvantage. Analysis of stated-preference subscription intentions data, obtained from an Australia-wide survey of 715 households, shows that there is potential for the new communication technology to create information inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The length of the working week and the flexibility of working time are two aspects which impact on the international competitiveness of Australian industry. The popular view of the Australian worker is often couched in terms such as "lazy" and "slack", and the "sickie" appears to have gained a permanent place in Australian vocabulary. Presents evidence, however, which tends to suggest that the lazy "tag" may be somewhat inappropriate. Comparison of the Australian estimates on hours of work with international data obtained from the OECD and the ILO indicates that Australian full-time workers are working more hours than most other OECD countries. Also, full-time employees are working considerably longer hours than they did a decade ago. Puts forward four primary reasons for this increase in hours worked by full-time employees: (1) a substantial increase in the proportion of employees working in excess of 48 hours per week; (2) a decrease in absence rates over the last ten years; (3) a decline in the amount of annual and long service leave taken by full-time employees; and (4) a significant decrease over the last decade in time lost owing to industrial disputes. Of greater concern is the flexibility of working time. Evidence suggests, for example, that penalty rates of pay and working time restrictions have tended to spread through the award system to an extent that is not healthy for Australian industry. While there has been some relaxation of these rigidities, it is thought that there is considerable scope for further moves in this direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Casual employment as a fraction of the employed labour force has expanded substantially during the period 1984 through 1993 This paper examines the incidence of this growth by gender, sector and industry. Separate shift-share and econometric procedures analyse ABS pooled time-series, cross-section data for the period 1984 through 1992. The shift-share analysis decomposes intraindustry growth. The fixed effects estimation results suggest recent casual employment growth in Australia is demand determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies household interest in subscribing to education and information services over a broadband network in Australian provincial centers using stated-preference data and a variety of demographic data. We find that although a majority of respondents are interested in subscribing, the number drops considerably when price information is provided. The study also found that income, household size, children in the household, and age increased interest in subscription; that being a member of a disadvantaged group decreased interest; and that there was no difference in interest due to gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent and extensive roll-out of fiber-optic cable in Australia has generated much public debate concerned with the likely household demand for network subscription Very noticeable in this literature is the absence of a sound analytical framework to investigate the demand for network subscription The work undertaken here envisages choice situations where households choose some combination of networked services Household network subscription depends on the desire to obtain broadband cervices. The econometric model employed here has the advantage that it can be developed in a random utility choice problem context. The structure of the experiment requires a trade-off between installation and rental price is made in selecting an optimal outcome Accordingly, installation and rental price, income and other household demographic characteristics are linked to subscription through a binomial discrete choice model.

The provision of temporary, specially designed artificial habitat may help support populations of the Endangered Whites' seahorse Hippocampus whitei in the face of rapid coastal urbanisation and declining natural habitats. Three designs of artificial habitat (Seahorse Hotels) were installed in Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia, where natural habitats had significantly declined. Mark recapture surveys were used to assess seahorse site fidelity and population parameters, and the effect of Seahorse Hotel design on seahorse abundance, epibiotic growth and mobile epifaunal seahorse prey was determined. The Seahorse Hotels sustained a substantial population of seahorses (64; 57–72 95% confidence intervals) in comparison to recent local population estimates. There were no significant differences in seahorse abundance, mobile epifauna or epibiotic growth among the three different hotel designs. This research demonstrated that H. whitei will inhabit Seahorse Hotels in absence of natural habitat, and additional complexity in these artificial structures was not necessary to support seahorse populations. Temporary structures such as Seahorse Hotels will be a valuable tool in supporting H. whitei and other Syngnathid populations through infrastructure maintenance or habitat modification. • Seahorse Hotels are a temporary artificial habitat for seahorses. • They are trialled here for the Endangered seahorse Hippocampus whitei. • Seahorses Hotels supported a relatively large population of seahorses. • Additional complexity was not necessary to support seahorses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]