VLS Industry engagement event: Maritime Law Association of Australia and NZ (MLAANZ)

On 1 November 2012, the Victoria Law School (VLS) hosted an inaugural event with the Maritime Law Association of Australia and NZ (MLAANZ). Professor Nick Gaskell of the TC Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland was guest speaker, and he discussed legal and practical issues concerning electronic bills of lading. It was evident from the breadth of the presentation, and of the questions asked after it, that the notion of electronic bills of lading is both topical, and offers some unique challenges for the shipping industry. Thanks to Ashley Sievwright for his assistance with event.

The photograph shows, from left: Dr. Michael Spisto (VLS); Mr. Andrew Tulloch (Partner, DLA Piper Law firm), Mr. Ron Bartsch (AV Law Aviation Consultants), Mr. Chris Barry (Mathematics and Aviation Studies, Brentwood Secondary College)[guest speaker], Mr. Charles Giacco (VLS)

School of Accounting and Finance Research Day

Promoting a research culture has been a guiding aim in the School of Accounting and Finance. To this end, Research Days are regularly held wherein postgraduate students and research active staff are provided the opportunity to report on their projects and share experiences.

The program is also valuable to presenters as they receive constructive feedback to clarify current issues and /or pursue new approaches. On 21 November, the School held its second Research Day for the year. Presentations were made by PhD student Dimuthu Ekanayake, DBA student Paramin Khositkulporn and staff, Dr Chitra DeSilva, Abdi Hassan, Helen Yang and Dr Rafael Paguio. Professor Beverly Jackling, Head of the School’s Financial Education Research Unit (third from right), presided over the proceedings.

Following tradition, an external guest speaker was invited to deliver the main presentation. Greg Stoner, Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Information Systems, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Scotland (third from left) presented on Technology in Accounting Education. Greg called for systematically embedding Information technology in the Accounting curriculum. To pursue this, Greg proposed a holistic approach by incorporating perspectives from the Accounting discipline, desired education outcomes and practical industry requirements.

All aboard the Vodkatrain!

Eight BHO2193 Tourism Product Design and Delivery students were selected as finalists in the Vodkatrain/BHO2193 prize. The major assignment in this subject required students, working in pairs, to produce 5 minute Skype videos of interviews done with Vodkatrain tour guides situated in places like Beijing, Suzdal and Moscow. The selected 8 students also attend a seminar on Social Media in the Travel Industry. Students had the option to submit their videos to Vodkatrain for judging and to use in marketing campaigns, and all participants received a certificate of thanks from Vodkatrain.

Ryan Green (4th from the right) and Bridgette Meaden (on the far right) emerged as victors - both receiving a $3,000, 3 week Vodkatrain trans-Mongolian Railway trip, during which they’ll be Vodkatrain’s social media reporters. Ryan and Bridgette will be blogging, posting on Facebook, tweeting and Youtubing their experience throughout the tour.

Logistics news

Delegation from China on Modern Logistics Training

Twenty five delegates from the Jiangsu Development and Reform Commission in China visited VU this month for executive training on modern logistics. The delegation was a direct result of the Victorian Government mission to China in September 2012, and VU was privileged to conduct the pilot program. The three days executive training were facilitated by Dr. Himanshu Shee, followed by two visits to IGA Distribution center in Laverton, and Corporate Express in Port Melbourne. The training was targeted mainly on Australian Logistics industry’s trend, decision behind process development and technology applications, cost efficiency drive and the strategies for survival in the era of global financial crisis. The experienced logistics delegates were most impressed by the industry visits, program content, and discussions. It was a great opportunity to exchange knowledge with the delegation.

At the IGA Distribution Centre, a demonstration of the normal operation of receiving, storing and dispatching drew attention to the functional layout, personnel scheduling/work flow, safety measures, and overall productivity. Among the technology applications, the delegation was particularly impressed by the voice recognition and pick-up system and the general Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). The dematic crane in the National Distribution Center (NDC) was the main attraction and the delegates noted the efficient and cost effective process of handling small orders.

At Corporate Express in Port Melbourne, a similar voice recognition and pick-up system was demonstrated to an accuracy of 99.89%. Further, the sustainability and ethical practices adopted by Corporate Express added to the value of the site visit. As one participant said, ‘We know it, but we're not able to practice in logistics management’. All realised that the Australian Logistics Industry is way ahead on many fronts than its Chinese counterpart. All members of the delegation were presented with certificates by Executive Education Director Dr. Joe Griffin, who is confident that the pilot program will be continued in 2013.

Supply chain students on Industrial Visits

Dr. Himanshu Shee from the School of Management and Information Systems took a group of 40 postgraduate students to the Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Corporate Express (CE) distribution centre (DC) in Altona and Port Melbourne October 2012.

The Corporate Express DC deals mainly with office supplies to corporate offices, while TMC produces Camry and Aurion cars for domestic and overseas markets. The supply chain students had the opportunity to go through the logistics DC operations mainly the processes such as receiving, put away, retrieving and dispatching. The voice picking technology of the DC was major point of discussion.

Car Assembly line at TMC was the major attraction for the students and the students were keen to know more on the logistics operations behind it. Both the visits added much to the class room discussion on the way supermarket industry and car manufacturing sector operate in Australia. Kaizen (i.e. continuous improvement) and Kanban (i.e. components parts ordering) application were the major area of discussion while on plant tour. The learning from the visit was added to the report that the students prepared on various topics and submitted for assessment.

VU alum launches TV program

VU Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance) graduate Kris Bondin is hosting a new TV program airing in Channel 31, called 'Money and Your Life'.

This unique show is dedicated to helping everyday Aussies get their finances back on track. Kris Bondin, CEO of Bills to Pay, uses his expertise in budgeting to help each week’s guests organise their finances, save money and live a better life.

Each week, Kris invites an expert from an expert panel to help guests overcome other challenges they may be facing; these experts come from all different fields such as family law, financial planning, event planning, child care and recruitment.

With such an array of experts, Money & Your Life is uniquely positioned to provide assistance to many Aussies in differing circumstances. So, no matter where you are in your life, this show will have something for you!

Tune in for the opportunity to win some great prizes, thanks to our sponsors.

• Melbourne: Monday nights at 8pm on Channel 31 - Digital 44
• Brisbane: Monday night at 7:30pm on 31 Digital
• Adelaide: Monday night at 7pm on Adelaide 44

PG student presents on China Journal of Accounting Research invitation

Yongiang Li’s presents at the China Journal of Accounting Research symposium

Yongqiang Li, an APAI PhD student from Victoria Law School, was invited to China by the China Journal of Accounting Research to present a paper titled “Larger Boards Lead to Better Performance in Small Firms”, coauthored with Professor Anona Armstrong and Professor Andrew Clarke.

The paper was well received by the journal, and will appear in the forthcoming issue of CJAR. Yongqiang was fully funded by the CJAR to attend the conference in Sun Yat-sen University from 16th – 17th November, 2012. About 150 scholars from different countries/regions attended the Symposium. The conference provides state of the art of research on China-focused accounting, finance, auditing and corporate governance-related issues.

China Journal of Accounting Research (CJAR) was founded by Sun Yat-sen University, China and City University of Hong Kong in 2008. Published by LexisNexis (2008-10) and Elsevier (from 2011), CJAR aims to publish theoretical and empirical research that uses contemporary research methodology to investigate issues about accounting, finance, auditing and corporate governance in China and other markets.

Researchers from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China have been making contributions to CJAR by actively participating in conferences organized by the Journal and by submitting their papers to the Journal. Currently, Professor Wei Minghai from Sun Yat-sen University, China and Professor Jeong-bon Kim from City University of Hong Kong are serving as co-editors of CJAR.

2013 VU Researcher Development Grant Scheme

Congratulations to the following faculty staff, who were all awarded 2013 VU Researcher Development Grants:

• Dr Torgier Watne & Assoc. Prof. Anne-Marie Hede:
  Agents of change: An investigation of how young consumers learn and pass on information about alcohol.
  The proposed study will investigate how young consumers learn, teach and develop identities around alcohol consumption by exploring ‘consumer socialisation agency’ amongst peer groups. The aim of this study is to develop a typology of alcohol identities in young consumers by investigating identity development through a social media simulation. The project proposes a bottom-up approach to social marketing centered on understanding how young consumers learn from each other with regard to alcohol and its consumption. The outcome will allow social marketers to develop campaigns that offer young consumers better behavioural alternatives.
• Dr Kamrul Ahsan & Prof Pauline Stanton
  Green practices and e-procurement: Reducing carbon footprint in public hospital procurement.Cutting operational costs, improving efficiency, and protecting environmental resources are growing concerns among government and business organisations. It is therefore essential to identify the interface issues of green and e-procurement i.e. e-green procurement, and the impact on reducing carbon footprint in the health care supply chain. With this aim, our research focuses on the Australian Government Health Purchasing regulatory bodies to analyse current practices and existing barriers of implementing green procurement and e-procurement in hospitals. Our research also identifies availability of common green practices and e-procurement processes and if together they can help to minimise the impact of carbon footprint. The study involves content analysis of policies and reports; case studies and structured interviews. Research findings will improve sustainable hospital purchasing practices and strategies, and create a model for other public sector organisations.
• Dr Gayathri Mekala & Dr Roger Jones (CSES), with Dr D Hatton Macdonald:
  Urban green infrastructure – An institutional analysis.
  While the significance and value of urban green infrastructure has been proven time and again, the questions as to why it is not a priority for urban planners and how it can be funded for healthy sustainable cities remains. The current research will do an institutional analysis of the urban green infrastructure in Melbourne West (case study area) and develop a framework which will present the different stakeholders, the distribution of governance responsibilities related to the green infrastructure and their performance. The results would provide the basis for a project proposal involving the key stakeholders identified.
• Dr Roger Bodman & Prof Roger Jones (CSES), with Dr B O’Neill & Prof P Friedlingstein: 
  Exploring science-policy links for the new generation of climate change scenarios.New scenarios developed by an international consortium for climate change research and IPCC assessments are being used to link earth systems and integrated assessment models. Although these new scenarios are appropriate for scientific research, their wider application to policy remains unclear. For many purposes, direct translation from science to policy is infeasible.
  We will use our simple, probabilistic Earth system model to explore the links between this scenario framework and policy needs. Collaboration with international modelling groups and attendance at expert meetings will result in high profile publications. ARC research proposals developed with international partners will move this agenda forward.
• Dr Riccardo Natoli & Prof Terrence Hallahan, with Dr K Ohtsuka:
  Identifying a financial literacy risk profile in the CALD communities – A case study of the Vietnamese community.

AMI accreditation offshore

As covered in this news item, VU's Bachelor of Business in Marketing degree was recently awarded Australian Institute of Marketing accreditation.

We are only the second university in Australia to be awarded this recognition, and the first to be awarded for offshore campuses.

Dr Gavin Lees Dr Maxwell Winchester presented the accreditation certificates last month; they are pictured here with our colleagues from Sunway College Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Gavin Lees Dr Maxwell Winchester with: left, Mrs Hor Poh Choo and Ms Ong Mei Mei, Sunway Johor Bahru; and right, Ms Greeja De Silva and Mrs Irene Teoh, Sunway KL

19th Annual Hospitality Tourism and Events Expo

The Centre for Work Integrated Learning, along with the School of International Business, hosted the 19th Annual Hospitality Tourism and Events Expo at VU's City Conference Centre on Friday 7 September. More than 260 people attended, including 88 industry representatives from across the three sectors, along with VU students from Higher and Vocational Ed courses.

Diane Smith, VTIC CEO

Prof Alison Morrison (Head, School of International Business) introduced Expo Guest Speaker, Ms Dianne Smith, (CEO, Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), and International Business Adjunct Professor), who gave the closing address at the Expo. Dianne’s presentation was warmly received by students and guests, and included a range of inspirational insights from her personal and professional experience. The presentation also provided the ideal forum for the launch of the VU Todd Blake Student Award.

The Todd Blake Student Award is a legacy project in honour and memory of the former CEO of VTIC, Todd Blake, who was well known for his passion for and commitment to the tourism, events and hospitality industries, as well as his leadership and can-do approach to life.

Todd was also a VU Alum, and had launched the inaugural Victoria Tourism Week at 2010’s VU Expo. The Expo was a featured event in the official Victoria Tourism Week (VTW) Program. VTW is an initiative of VECCI through VTIC, the Victoria Tourism Industry Council, and Destination Melbourne (a VU partner).

Some great feedback on the day was received from industry partners. ‘Really impressed, the day ran well, we were made to feel welcome. Great to be involved – the students were delightful!’ said Maria, of Qantas Holidays & Viva Holidays.

Rosane, Team Leader, Coaching & Development Choice Hotels Australasia Pty Ltd, said: ‘Thank you for the opportunity to promote Choice Hotels today at the Expo, it was a great morning and we were able to speak with a lot of great students who showed a lot of interest and had some great questions.’
Kellie, Marketing Manager at Destination Melbourne said she was very impressed with the calibre of students at this year’s Expo.
Louise, an Event Specialist with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, added, ‘We have found the Expo to be an excellent avenue for signing up volunteers.’

SAP Innojam success!

A VU Master of Business ERP Systems student, Selvie Grech, wrote a blog about her experiences in the SAP Innojam event which was hosted our City Flinders campus in August this year. She posted the blog on the SAP Community Network, which gets more than 1.2 million unique individual visits each month. Selvie’s blog and associated picture was highlighted on the opening screen of the site. Rohini Sreedhar, a former VU student, also had her blog highlighted.

The site also distributes a newsletter to it millions of members every 2 weeks. Each newsletter usually has approximately 5 news items. Selvie’s blog was highlighted as one of these news items in the September newsletter.

The Australian InsideSAP industry magazine contacted Selvie to get permission to publish a copy of her blog in their 2013 Yearbook. The magazine has approximately 8,000 subscribers.

This is a great achievement for Selvie and Rohini and good exposure for VU. But it also demonstrates how some simple effective social media activities can reach an enormous audience.

Read more about the SAP Innojam at he SAP site.

Publications news

Maxwell Winchester (International Business) has co-authored a chapter with his wife, Tiffany, in the first year marketing textbook Marketing - Theory, Evidence, Practice

Olga Junek, Sarath Divisekera and Lindsay Turner (International Business) each have chapters in the Handbook of Research Methods in Tourism

Maxwell Winchester and Dr Gavin Lees (International Business) have had a co-authored paper accepted for publication in the Australasian Marketing Journal. The paper is titled Do radio stations in New Zealand target successfully? 

VU Adjunct Professor Geoffrey Lipman’s article, titled Travel And Tourism’s Green Growth Transformation, will be published in the Spring edition of Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC)’s Tourism Excellence magazine

Potential Unlimited 5 Launch

A band performs at the launch

Earlier this month, Potential Unlimited 5 launched another 11 acts through their unique VU student record label. Students of the Music Publishing and Recording unit were required to identify, contact and license a particular song from an emerging band or artist. They were then required to construct marketing tools and identify areas of marketing which would be most beneficial to their chosen act. They also uploaded these marketing materials to the Potential Unlimited website - www.amusicdegreethatrocks.vu.edu.au. The groups were then given 80 copies of the CD to go out into the market and use to promote their chosen act.

A soloist takes the stage

On Thursday 4th of October, the Potential Unlimited 5 launch was held at Kindred studios in Whitehall Street, Yarraville. The launch event was an undertaking by students from the Live Performance Management unit, and forms part of their assessment.

Due to be finished in December, Kindred studios will house the VU Music & creative industries units in a state of the art facility. The Publishing and Recording and Live Performance students who put together the Potential Unlimited 5 CD and launch event were impressed with what VU is building at Kindred studios, and were happy to have Potential Unlimited 5 launched there to help bring attention to this exciting new facility.

When completed, Kindred will offer a brilliant creative environment for students to work on sound production, performance, composition, studio work, live sound production, sound production software, public address system to name just a few.

Potential Unlimited has proven to be a very popular assignment for the unit Music Publishing and recording unit, with one group concluding their assignment presentation this year by saying, 'We really liked the music industry, and after this experience, we like it even more!'.

Part of the audience enjoying the launch & venue

Student Danica Bulovic said of the evening, 'I think we had at least approximately 90 people there at one point, which was a really excellent turnout. The vibe of the night was really laid back, in my opinion, just like going to see local bands at your local pub. We had free beer on tap and 4 really cool bands play - Velour Fog, James Gowans and band, The Evidence and Luna Ghost - with the set up of the venue allowing everyone in the room to have a really excellent view of the stage.'

Potential Unlimited 4 was shortlisted in the 2011 Independent Music Awards, a US based, global competition for all forms of music. With a judging panel is drawn from US based music industry executives as well as some prominent artists, last years panel included Keith Richards. Potential Unlimited 4 went on to win in the Campus Records category, becoming the only non-US campus to ever win in this category - a feat we will hopefully replicate this year with Potential Unlimited 5.

The Australian Competitive Research Symposium

On Friday 28 September, VU held a heat for the inaugural Australian Competitive Research Symposium.

The VU heat involved 9 of our VU researchers delivering short, 5 minute presentations of a research project with the aid of 3 slides, in a similar but expanded fashion to the 3 minute thesis competition run nationally for PhD students.

There were 3 discipline groupings in which participants competed and the winners of each received $2,000 towards their research. The winners were:

Discipline Grouping 1: Science

Dr Patrick-Jean Guay, ISI

Discipline Grouping 2: Health

Dr Fiona Ling, ISEAL

Discipline Grouping 3: Arts, Education and Business

Megan Bowman, Victoria Law School

The 3 winners will go on to compete alongside other internal heat winners from Edith Cowan University, the University of Ballarat and Australian Catholic University in the national competition in November.

Prizes of $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000 will be awarded to the first, second and third places of each discipline grouping in the national final and the overall winner will receive an additional $15,000!

We would like to thank those of you who came along and supported our researchers at the VU event, and congratulate our winners and wish them luck in the national finals. We’d also like to thank our judges, Professor Warren Payne, Professor Helen Borland, and Professor Tom Healy.

For further details, please contact Dr Melanie McGuire in VU's Office for Research.

2012 Kirby Moot wrap-up

On the 10th, 11th & 12th of October, Victoria Law School (VLS) held the 2nd Annual Hon. Michael Kirby Contract Law Competition.

L-R: Robin Brett QC, Prof. Andrew Clarke, Judge Misso
(Semi-final, 12th October 2012, Adelaide University 1 v Bond University)

There were a total of 80 participants, from 22 teams and 12 different Universities around Australia. These included Victoria University, Bond University, University of Queensland, University of Western Sydney, The University of Newcastle, The University of Adelaide, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, RMIT, Deakin University, Queensland University of Technology and Latrobe University.

Hon. Prof Frank Vincent AO QC, Hon. Prof Michael
Kirby AC CMG, Michael D.Wyles SC

Victoria Law School entered three teams; they all competed extremely well and were part of the final eight. The final, between Adelaide Team 1 and VLS Team 2, was close, with VLS being the victors on the day.  Congratulations to VLS Team 2 on a superb win.

The event was a great success, giving all participants a rich clinical and learning experience. The VLS would like to thank each and every team member and their dedicated coaches. The standard of advocacy was superb; the competitors are terrific ambassadors for the next generation of legal and professional talent.

A huge debt of gratitude goes to each of our Arbitrators. Their ethic of public service is deep and profound, and on behalf of all students we thank you for your time, dedication and wisdom. Particular thanks goes to our stellar cast of arbitrators for the final, the “dream team” of Justice Kirby, Justice Vincent and Senior Counsel Wyles.
We are lucky in law to have enduring friends and partners in our sponsors Lexis Nexis, Oxford University Press and Leo Cussen. Thank you for your generous contribution to this event.

John Eldridge & Rebecca McEwen, Adelaide Uni 1
(Grand-Final, 12th October 2012, County Court)

Thirty VLS student volunteers generously gave their time and effort to this event. This is fast developing into a jamboree - an all-in effort - and one of great camaraderie.

Special congratulations for a magnificent organising job to Vivi Tan and student Melissa Radosavac, and Allyce Cowan from our administration office. 

We’re delighted this competition is named in Michael Kirby’s honour. Michael is our patron and special friend; he is an Adjunct Professor of Victoria Law School and a Doctor of the University.

We look forward to VLS MKM 3 in 2013. We look forward to welcoming regional and international teams in due course.

A big thank you to everyone involved, and congratulations to all of our competitors. They did VLS proud.

Results

2012 Kirby Moot winners: Victoria Law School Team 2 - Robert Forrester and Mitchell Latham. The winners were awarded $1000 prize money, together with an Oxford University Press Australian Law Dictionary, and a book pack containing law guidebooks and legal skills books.

Victoria Law School Team 2 (Highest scored team in the prelim
round & and Winner of the moot) L-R :Hubert Algie, Vivi
Tan (Moot Co-ordinator), Robert Forrester, Mitchell Latham,
Stephen Tamburro

Runners Up: University of Adelaide Team 1 were awarded $800
Best Speaker in the Preliminary Rounds: Mitchell Latham (Victoria Law School Team 2) and Rebecca McEwen (University of Adelaide Team 1) each received $250
Best Speaker in the Final Rounds: Amy Reid (Bond University) received $250
Highest Scoring Team in the Preliminary Rounds: Victoria Law School Team 2 received $400
Best Team Memorandum for Claimant: Queensland University of Technology Team 1 received $200
Best Team Memorandum for Respondent: Queensland University of Technology Team 2 received $200

Observers at the 2012 Kirby moot Grand Final

Meet our People: Paul Whitelaw

Paul, a VU veteran, shares his 'original staff photo'

Paul Whitelaw is a Senior Lecturer, School of International Business at Victoria University and the Centre for Tourism and Services Research, where he lectures in quantitative and computer based hospitality management systems on under graduate and post graduate programs. Prior to this appointment, Paul was Foundation Executive Director of VU's Centre for Hospitality and Tourism Research.  Before joining academe in 1991, Paul enjoyed nearly 15 years experience in various line and executive positions in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry.  As well, he spent his childhood actively exposed to his family’s hotel, restaurant and motel business interests.

Currently, Paul is on sabbatical, and is working on three major funded projects:

• investigating best practice processes and systems in developing “academic integrity” in first year students,
• leading a project team that is working with major tourism industry stakeholders and conservation agencies to investigate the feasibility of various funding mechanisms for tourism businesses, especially indigenous tourism businesses, in protected areas, and 
• investigating the attitudes and values of s86 committees of management volunteers on crown land.

In 2001 Paul received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Victoria University.  In 2002 he co-chair the University’s Attrition and Transition Taskforce.  In 2005 he received a $25,000 grant from the Victorian State Government to develop a suite of on-line learning resources for recently arrived Asian graduate business students and in 2006 he chaired the review of the University’s Graduate Capabilities Policy.  More recently, in 2009 he received an $80,000 grant from the Australian Government to develop a suite of academic resources to help international students, especially those from China, deal with the challenges of studying in university in Australia.  He was a member of the project team that recently finished a major review of hospitality and tourism education in Australia for the OLT.  Paul is also a senior member of an international syndicate that is undertaking a project for the UNWTO to assist emerging tourism destinations in the developing world to decarbonise their tourism industry.

His PhD studied the factors that drive career progression and success in the hospitality industry.

Moot gathers momentum

The second annual Hon. Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot is gaining momentum, with 22 teams registering to participate. The Moot will be held over three days in October - from Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th.
The 22 teams will consist of over 80 students from universities all over the country, including 3 teams from VU:

• RMIT (JD program- 3 teams)
• University of Melbourne (3 teams)
• La Trobe University (2 teams)
• University of Queensland (1 team)
• Queensland University of Technology (2 teams)
• University of Newcastle (1 team)
• University of Western Sydney (2 teams)
• Macquarie University (1 team)
• Bond University (1 team)
• University of Adelaide (2 teams)
• Monash University (1 team)

The Kirby Moot reinforces the Victoria Law School's focus on commercial law, as well as its participation in many international commercial law competitions such as the Vis Moot and the International Maritime Law Moot. It is hoped that the  Hon. Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot will continue to run successfully for many years to come, and that it will raise the Victoria Law School's profile as a serious contender in the provision of quality legal education in Australia. Read more about the Moot here.

From Victoria Law School to Stanford Law School

Victoria Law School lecturer Megan Bowman has been selected to attend the 2012 Harvard-Stanford International Junior Faculty Forum held at Stanford Law School on October 19 and 20. Only 10 'junior faculty' scholars are selected each year from a broad international base. The purpose of the forum is to stimulate the exchange of ideas and research, among younger scholars in the academy, from all parts of the world.
The paper Megan submitted is based on the empirical chapter of her PhD, and is titled 'Banks, Climate Change and the 'Care Factor': lessons for policy-makers in the USA and Australia'. Megan also presented on this topic at the 4th Cambridge Regulation & Governance Conference at Queens College, University of Cambridge, UK earlier this month.

VU Students receive Industry Awards

Jason Connor with his award

Congratulations to our Jason Connor, who took out the 'Australian Transport & Logistics Young Achiever of the Year Award' at the 2012 Australian Freight Industry Awards.

Jason, currently studying our Master of Business (Supply Chain Management) course, received his award in recognition of outstanding performance in his role as Operations Manager at CC Containers.

The award was presented by The Hon Terry Mulder MP, Minister for Public Transport & Roads, at a ceremony held at the Palladium Ballroom, Crown Casino.

Congratulations, Jason!

Now, over to India, where VU Alum Professor Mukti Mishra, Chairman of the Centurion Group of Institutions, received the Roll of Honour certificate in the Skills Champion: Emerging Warrior category from the Federation of Indian Chambers if Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

The award was in recognition of extraordinary contribution in developing technologies, distinctive training solutions, path breaking research and commitment towards the skilling movement in India. This is the second FICCI award the Professor Mishra and the Centurion Group has won, the first one being for 'Best Skills Project in Rural Community' in 2010.

Industry partnerships reap rich rewards for students

2012 ICCI scholarship winner, Alison Bottcher

The School of International Business prides itself on its close links with industry partners. These links feed into teaching materials and help students to excel, both in their studies and in the world of employment.

This was illustrated recently through two important partnerships formed in the Event Management area; one with the International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA), and the other with iVvy Pty Ltd (introduced this year by Martin Robertson). Both partnerships have directly benefited students undertaking the BH3421 Business Events unit, as part of the Event Management specialisation, and given further benefit to the high-achievers in the unit.

ICCA sponsor a yearly scholarship giving students an opportunity to attend their prestigious Annual Congress, wherever it is held in the world that year. This is the third year the Scholarship is being offered; last year, the Congress was in Leipzig, Germany.

Attended by leading practitioners from around the world, the Congress discusses, deliberates and finds responses to the issues affecting the organisation, the transportation and the accommodation of international meetings and events. This year’s scholarship award winner, Alison Bottcher, who is in the second year of her Law and Event Management program, will be attending the conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Not only is Alison going to enjoy an amazing opportunity to network with representatives from around the world, she will also be representing Victoria University’s School of International Business throughout. Follow Alison’s travels and experiences, and congratulate her on her success by following her blog.

Alison said of her scholarship; 'It’s a brilliant opportunity. I am very happy to receive the scholarship, and really looking forward to learning from experts from around the world. Going to Puerto Rico is, well, really exciting too!'

Alison is also receiving the Certificate ‘Introduction to iVvy Event Management software’.  iVvy produce state-of-the-art cloud based event management software which the school uses in its event management units.This year, BHO3421 Business Events students had have the opportunity to gain professional certification through successful completion of exercises using the software. Congratulations to all those students who received a certificate this year!

Gillian Essery, Alison Bottcher, Olga Junek (lecturer), Martin Robertson (lecturer and coordinator of the Business Events unit ) and Colin Drake (lecturer and coordinator of the event specialism area), Anastasia Keras and Olivia Dal Bo.

Twenty of the 137 students who enrolled on the unit this year managed to gain a special 'Certificate of Excellence'. As this was only given to those who successfully completed 100% of the work correctly, they should be particularly proud of their work. Three of these students - Olivia Dal Bo, Gillian Essery, and Anastasia Keras - who received this certificate of excellence were also the very close runners-up in receiving the ICCA Scholarship.

In other news from International Business staff, Martin Robertson, Olga Junek and Leonie Lockstone-Binney had their article 'Is this for real? Authentic learning for the challenging events environment' published this month in the Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism 12 (3), p225-241

Meet our People: Leonie Lockstone-Binney

Leonie Lockstone-Binney

Leonie has a long association with Victoria University, having commenced her undergraduate degree in Tourism Management here in the early 1990’s. Since that time, she has gone on to complete all of her qualifications at VU, including most recently the Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Teaching.

Leonie joined the former School of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing full-time in January 2006, after completing a one-year contract at Edith Cowan University, WA, as an Associate Lecturer in Tourism. Since this time, she was been predominately teaching and researching in the emerging field of event management.

Leonie says, on her pull to VU - "As an undergraduate, VU’s Tourism program had the leading reputation in the State, if not the whole of Australia. I was taught by academics that were internationally recognised in the field, including amongst them Brian King, Marg Deery and Leo Jago. I was fortunate enough to have these people involved in my undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD studies. Later, they continued as colleagues to guide my progress as an early career academic."

Leonie’s PhD examined the role of volunteers in cultural tourism settings. Volunteering continues to be the main focus of her post-doctoral research program. Leonie has several publications in top-tier journals, as well as research grants related to volunteer participation.

After seven years employment at VU, Leonie continues to enjoy working with colleagues in the School of International Business and the wider Faculty, particularly her event management colleagues Olga Junek, Martin Robertson, Colin Drake and Brianna Newland, to grow and support VU’s award winning event management program.

On a personal level, Leonie also has VU to thank for introducing her to her husband, Wayne Binney, former Faculty MBA Director, now at Deakin University.

The latest from our academics on The Conversation

Have a read of some of our academics' latest contributions at The Conversation, an independent source of information, analysis and commentary from the university and research sector. The Conversation aims to provide a fact-based and editorially-independent forum, free of commercial or political bias.

• Dr Matt Harvey
• Dr Leonie Lockstone-Binney
• Dr Brianna Newland
• Associate Professor Anne-Marie Hede

To have a look at contributions from VU academics across the university, click on the 'Vu @ The Conversation' tab at the top of this page.

Transport Law unit an Australian first

L-R: Ron Bartsch, Dr Michael Spisto, Mr Charles Giacco

Earlier this month, BLO2502 Transport Law students were treated to a talk by Mr Ron Bartsch, aviation lawyer, UNSW academic, former head of safety operations at Qantas, and former B717 captain, addressed the Transport Law students (and other VLS/VU students and staff) on the topic of the history of Australian civil aviation regulation. Ron strongly supports this unit of study, saying "Victoria University must be commended for their initiative in identifying and promoting the importance of aviation law as a distinct and important area of law."

BLO2502 Transport Law is a unique law elective unit of study at Victoria Law School (VLS) which provides a specific focus on Aviation Law and Maritime Law in Australia. It is the only unit of study of its kind at any university in Australia.

Transport Law also involves a close industry connection, with participation from leading aviation and maritime industry representatives also involved in the delivery of Transport Law.

In addition to law students at VLS, Transport Law is also available as an elective unit of study to all Faculty of Business and Law students, as well as students from other institutions desirous of undertaking specialised studies in maritime or aviation law.

Any queries about Transport Law can be directed to the unit coordinator, Dr Michael Spisto, or to assistant lecturer, Mr Charles Giacco.

Faculty Researchers Look Into Sustainability

Researchers discussing sustainability research

Researchers from across the Faculty whose primary research area is sustainability met on Friday August 3 to talk about their work, share ideas, and to consider what makes our sustainability research 'distinctive'. Convenor Dr Colin Higgins (School of Management and Information Systems) said it was staggering how much good quality work was going on, the sophisticated nature of both qualititative theorising and statistical analysis, and also how much crossover there was in terms of climate change, water, reporting and evaluation, and evaluation of public policy.

Associate Dean (Research and Research Training) Professor Anne-Marie Hede has been keen to make sustainability a part of the Faculty's research strengths for some time. She said it was important the Faculty looked to leverage the university's distinctive specialisations and the Collaborative Reserch Network in a way that strengthened our prospects for the next ERA round.

Several of the researchers identified opportunities for collaboration and made plans to meet together again. Dr Higgins said 'Decision-Making' appeared to be something that cut across all of our work - and was a valuable way to start working towards some kind of distinctive profile. The group will meet again later in the year.

Hospitality Career Development Seminar report

18 Hospitality students attended the annual Hospitality Career Development Seminar, organised by Work Integrated Learning Co-ordinator Tania Piacente. This year the event was hosted by Crown Hotels.

L-R: Liselle Boykun, Paula Ntalianis, Jessica Dijanestic, Keaton Male,
Tania Piacente, Austin Norman

The first presentation was conducted by Paula Ntalianis, Training Manager, Crown Hotels & Retail. Our two current Co-op students at Crown, Jessica Dijanesic and Keaton Male, also conducted a presentation to students highlighting the benefits of undertaking Co-op at Crown, and explained the rotational nature of the program offered to successful candidates. Students work in various departments across the three Hotels – Crown Towers, Metropol and Promenade in areas such as Housekeeping, Bell, Reception, Reservations, Spa, and Crystal Club.

The second hour of the event was a tour of Crown Metropol. Students were able to tour the property and see the Crown Training College, guest rooms, Day Spa, pool and Club 28.

Mary Moran, a Tourism and Hospitality student, said of the event: "It was such an amazing opportunity to see part of the Crown complex and also what they have to offer both their guests, and individuals who would like to be involved in their organisation. It was definitely a very pleasurable and inspiring experience which really solidified where I want to be for my Co-op year as well as career-wise."

Ashleigh Peebles, a Hospitality student, also gave great feedback on the event. "It really highlighted what I can see in my future career and in the hotel and hospitality industry. The tour of Crown has opened my eyes to the opportunities in the hotel industry, and I endeavour to pursue a long career in the industry. Thank you again for a wonderful experience!"

Presentations news

Faculty of Business and Law Deputy Dean Professor Pauline Stanton and Associate Professor Elisabeth Wilson-Evered attended the prestigious Academy of Management Annual Meeting held between August 3 and 7 in in Boston, Massachusetts.  Pauline presented a paper titled ‘High Performance Work Systems and Social Identification’, which came out of a large study in the health sector and involved co authors from La Trobe University. A more developed version of this paper is now under review for the International Journal of Human Resource Management.

Professor Pauline Stanton also presented with PhD student Gitika Sablok at the Reassessing Employment Involvement and Participation Symposium, organised by the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing at Griffith University on August 15. Their paper is based on work from Gitika’s PhD thesis and is now under review for a special edition of the Journal of Industrial Relations.

AFISS hosts interview workshops

Earlier this month Accounting Finance and Investment Student Society (AFISS) ran the first instalment of their Workshop Series. The workshop, hosted by Ernst & Young's HR team, provided students with the opportunity to learn first-hand how to prepare a structured approach to job applications, allowing them to best highlight their demonstrated skills in alignment with requirements of the position.

AFISS workshop participants

Topics included:

• how to make your application stand out
• application don’ts
• what employers look for in interviews; and
• wow to answer interview questions with the S.T.A.R (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique

Although the workshop was administered by Ernst & Young, the techniques described easily translate to the application process of other large financial employers. The session also gave students the opportunity to network with, and ask questions of the E&Y HR team after the presentation.

AFISS will be hosting more workshops in the same vein this semester, some of which will be held within the corporate offices of their sponsors. The next workshop in the series (AMP Horizons presents Rapport Building Workshop) will be run on the 4th of September.

Moot news

Following the success of the inaugural Hon. Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot Competition, the Victoria Law School is looking forward to this year's competition in October. We have so far received registrations from the Queensland University of Technology, University of Newcastle and the University of Western Sydney, and Victoria Law School will likely register multiple teams.

In other mooting news, the VU mooting team comprising of Melissa Radosavac and Robert Forrester advanced to the semi finals in the 13th International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot Competition, held from 6-10 July at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Robert won the best speaker in the finals award. The team was coached by Vivi Tan and  Associate Professor Bruno Zeller.

A/Professor Bruno Zeller sits on the bench for the ADR Moot final

Associate Professor Bruno Zeller, visiting professor at City University Hong Kong, wrote a moot problem for a mediation/arbitration for the The International ADR Mooting Competition. Held from 29 July – 4 August 2012, the International ADR Mooting Competition is an international mediation and arbitration competition open to all universities. It is conducted by City University of Hong Kong in association with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and Columbia University (New York).

The International ADR Mooting Competition is an international mediation and arbitration competition that is open to all universities. It is conducted by City University of Hong Kong in association with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and Columbia University (New York).  Associate Professor  Bruno Zeller judged several moots, and sat on the bench for the final.


AFISS workshop participants

2012 Students In Free Enterprise National Conference and Competition

VU SIFE team with CaAtherine Meredith (far left), Deputy Dean Pauline Stanton (second from right) and  George Comodromos (far right)

Between 11-13th July 2012, the SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) National Conference and Competition was held at the Grand Hyatt in Collins Street, Melbourne. SIFE VU (Students in Free Enterprise at Victoria University) represented Victoria University and competed against 24 universities around the nation and proudly presented our five major projects that we have been working tirelessly on during the past twelve months.


Not only did the Nationals Competition provide attendees with the opportunity to see what projects other university teams had implemented, it also provided an amazing opportunity for students expand their networks with a panel of industry professional judges and students from other universities.

Although the team was unable to make it to finals, they nonetheless represented Victoria University in a positive light and made their presence known within the competition.

The team presenting team that participated in the competition comprised of Deepa Chand, Wei Ying Zee, Madhusha Wijayarathne, Baixue Ma and Sara Abbay and were supported by our Faculty Advisors, CaAtherine Meredith and George Comodromos and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law Pauline Stanton and VU Alumni Tim Baxter.

Post Nationals, the team once again looks forward to continuing with our hard work and progressing with our projects.

Meet our People: Scott Murray

Scott in action at LSAP 

Scott Murray, the Faculty’s Student Recruitment Officer, started at Victoria University in December 2010. Originally from Western Australia, Scott completed an arts/law degree 2008 and worked full time at a law firm from November of that year until October 2010, when he moved to Melbourne to work at VU.

Scott has enhanced and expanded the Faculty’s Schools Engagement Program to a new level, building on the success of the IPAB and ABW competitions, creating from scratch the LSAP competition, and successfully engaging more and more students from a diverse range of schools across Melbourne. As a result, the Faculty enjoys a vastly enhanced profile amongst secondary school students and teachers throughout Victoria, with secondary school students lobbying their teachers to be involved with our program of competitions and events in the future!

Run for its second consecutive year from the City Flinders campus, ABW 2012 saw five teams competing in various challenges - some business simulation exercises, and others needing a more diverse set of skills - all requiring students to work effectively together, despite starting the competition as complete strangers. Students created creative trade displays and TV ads, and worked hard to build their sporting goods manufacturing businesses into great successes.

The iPAB Awards Night, held at City Flinders campus in August, saw VU alumni Jason Cunningham and Natalie Davies present prizes to students who’d created some fantastic business plans – including restaurants, retail stores, puppy day care and an innovative solution to shopping centre car park gridlock.

Scott also responds enthusiastically to invitations from schools to present law and business oriented workshops to students. These visits (to schools such as The Peninsula School, Mount Eliza, Marian College, Sunshine West and Genazzano FCJ College, Kew) have allowed Scott to promote our courses whilst engaging students in discussions about study options for careers in business and law. Given his own background and experience, Scott is also able to shed light on the day-to-day problems and challenges of working in the law.

Participants getting into the spirit of the inaugural LSAP competition

Perhaps Scott’s most significant contribution to the Faculty’s schools engagement program was the creation of LSAP – the Legal Studies and Australian Politics competition. Over 4 Saturdays in July and August, Victoria Law School hosted over 100 Year 10 and 11 students from well over 30 schools in Melbourne (and 1 in Bendigo!). Scott created this brand new competition, which tested students’ abilities in debating, mock trial, filmmaking, as well as encouraging them to develop their teamwork, leadership and communication skills. Participants in the 12 teams (each assigned a swag of coloured team T-shirts on their first day) competed in a wide range of different activities, and were mentored by VLS students. The Hon. Frank Vincent AO QC presented medals and trophies on the final day. With so many students participating and giving great feedback, Scott hopes the competition can run again in 2013.

July staff news

Brianna Newland and Dr. Matt Bowers have had a paper, titled 'Managing a confederation of rivals', published in Sport Management Review.

Roberto Bergami has had a book chapter published: 'Incoterms 2010 – A Risk Management Approach', in Papanikos, G.T. (ed.), Economic Essays, Athens Institute for Education and Research, Athens, Greece, ISBN 978-960-9549-84-4, pp. 311-325.

Last month Dr Colin Drake, a Lecturer in Event Management with the School of International Business, was interviewed by journalist Tom Nightingale for ABC Radio National’s PM program. Colin was asked to comment regarding the economic evaluations of the Adelaide Fringe Festival where it is now the largest arts festival in Australia, boasting attendances in excess of 1.4 million over its season.

Congratulations to Paul Whitelaw and Fiona Henderson, who have been granted research funding by the Office for Learning and Teaching for their proposed paper 'Working from the centre: supporting unit/course co-ordinators to implement academic integrity policies, resources and scholarship'. We are pleased to announce that the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research has approved funding for the proposal to the amount of $130,000.

VU & Partner Conference, Beijing

Several Faculty staff were among conference participants

Several Faculty staff – Colin Clark, Elisabeth Wilson-Evered, Wei Dai, Joanne Pyke, Min Jiang, Torgeir Watne and Alan McWilliams - recently participated in the highly successful 7th Victoria University and Chinese partner conference, held at the Central Garden Hotel, Beijing.

This year the conference title was “Enriching Partnerships: Deepening Learning and Research Opportunities for Global Graduates and Academics”, reflecting an enhanced Research focus, which addressed VU and Chinese institution feedback from previous conferences. This meant there was a Research stream running concurrently with a Teaching and Learning stream.

All of VU’s mainland Chinese partners participated and with the added objective of building VU’s profile in HDR, graduating students and new researchers from Beijing Jiaotong University and Central University of Finance and Economics were also invited. Feedback from participants ranged from “I did not know VU did so much research” to “really important” to “what else can we research together?”

Meet our People: Dr. Leanne White

Dr. Leanne White

Dr Leanne White is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing the School of International Business. Leanne began her association with the VU 30 years ago when she was undertook a Bachelor of Arts degree at Footscray Institute of Technology (FIT). Leanne was also given the honour of being awarded FIT’s inaugural Student of the Year. Her father (Ron White) also taught in some of the same buildings in the 1940s – as Footscray Technical School. Like many who enjoy a long-standing relationship with VU, Leanne has witnessed a few changes in the organisation, seen some faces come and go, and enjoyed a solid working relationship with many outstanding staff across the University.

After her BA, Leanne completed a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Education at La Trobe University. She later returned to Victoria University of Technology (VUT) to complete a Master of Arts degree and teach part-time. Her PhD was undertaken at Monash University and examined official and commercial nationalism at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Prior to rejoining VU and the Faculty of Business and Law in 2004, Leanne was the foundation coordinator of the Communications and Media Studies major at Monash University. During her nine years at Monash, she was responsible for establishing what became the Faculty’s flagship program at the Berwick, Clayton and Caulfield campuses. Leanne also shared her experiences of teleteaching along with other early forms of flexible learning at seminars, conferences and in publications. She was responsible for securing a significant grant which resulted in establishing the University’s online lecture system. Leanne also played a key role in negotiating the establishment of the Monash Centre in Prato, Italy.

Leanne’s research interests include: national identity, Australian popular culture, advertising, commercial nationalism, destination branding, commemorative events, and heritage tourism. She is the author of more than 30 book chapters and refereed journal articles. Her extensive expert commentary and media coverage includes: Radio Australia, The Australian, The Age, Herald Sun, The West Australian, and Campus Review.

Leanne is the co-editor of Tourism and National Identities: An International Perspective (2011), and is currently working with colleague Dr Elspeth Frew on the forthcoming edited volume: Dark Tourism and Place Identity: Marketing, Managing and Interpreting Dark Places (2013), and with co-editors Dr Matt Harvey and Dr Warwick Frost on Wine and Identity: Heritage, Branding and Terroir (2014). All three books are Routledge publications.

In her spare time Leanne enjoys spending time with family and friends, gardening, photography, reading and travel. Find out more about Leanne’s publications at the Victoria University Institutional Repository.

International banking under the microscope

Staff from the school of Accounting and Finance have papers examining sectors of the international banking industry due for publication in the upcoming issue of Corporate Ownership and Control.

Managerial decisions are the main cause of inefficiency in the Sri Lankan banking industry, according to Lalith Seelanatha. Dr Seelanatha and co-researcher, Hilary E. Silva from the University of Jayewardenepura's paper presents findings from their study of efficiency in Sri Lankan banks over a 20-year period.

Although Sri Lankan banks were, overall, "relatively efficient", managerial decisions and operational scale had contributed to recorded inefficiency. The research revealed that management issues appeared to be more pronounced in medium-sized banks. While large banks were relatively more efficient than small banks, new commercial banks performed better than large other banks, he said.

In a separate paper,  Abdi (Abdiwahid) Hassan, Yongqiang Li, Esse Abdirashid, Bruno Zeller and Miaoli Du examine the performance of 91 Islamic banks around the world, from 1991 to 2010. Their paper examines the impact on investment protection on the Islamic banking sector.

Mr. Hassan and his colleagues argue that because many Islamic banks rely on financing methods such as mark up or lease financing, instead of profit-and-loss sharing methods (which are considered the core Islamic financing methods), they are exposed to default risks.

"The empirical results [show]... investor protection has a positive impact on the financial performance of Islamic banks. The legal approach to corporate governance in Islamic banks holds the key issue of protecting the investors from outside parties. This legal approach includes both conventional law and Shariah law, represented by the Shariah supervisory board. The policy implication is one of improving investor protection," Mr Hassan and his co-researchers explain. Mr Hassan said further research was needed because of the dramatic growth in the Islamic banking sector.

"We need to investigate what the optimal level of investor protection should be. This is important in orderto leverage between the improvement of short-term performance and sustainable development within the framework of Shariah principles."

Marlene takes centre-field

As VU School of Accounting and Finance Administrator, Marlene Alvares' weekdays are kept busy with paperwork and supporting staff in myriad ways.

On weekends she devotes her time to relaxing and cheering on her beloved Western Bulldogs in the AFL.

A spectator at most at-home games, Marlene was thrilled when she won a VU staff competition to act as official coin-tosser for the VU-sponsored match between the Bulldogs and Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on 17 June.

Marlene said it was a great day and a thrill to be centre stadium, tossing the coin, while the crowd roared for the action to begin.

"It was so exciting to be part of it all. I feel like I helped the Bulldogs win the game, because we won the toss and then won the game by 38 points."

Professor Russell Craig, Head of the School of Accounting and Finance, said Marlene's "15 minutes of fame" was particularly well-deserved, as she was recently awarded a staff commendation in the Faculty of Business and Law's staff awards.

"All of us in the School were pleased to see Marlene enjoy this honour. She is a dedicated staff member and received her service commendation for consistent high level of service provided to both staff and students, particularly her contribution to improving the Student Experience Surveys and involvement in the SES Review Working Party."

Accounting researcher wins AFAANZ grant

A School of Accounting and Finance postgraduate and her mentors have been awarded a 2011-2012 Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Research Fund grant.

Dr Maria Prokofieva, Professor Beverley Jackling and Dr Riccardo Natoli have received a $6000 grant under the AFAANZ scheme. The grant will help Dr Prokofieva, an emerging researcher, develop her academic profile through cooperative work with Professor Jackling and Dr Natoli, established researchers in their field.

Dr Prokofieva said she was thrilled to receive the grant and looked forward to working with her two mentor researchers on a one-year project.

"Beverley and Riccardo are very good researchers, I have worked with them on another project, and that was very useful and instructive," Dr Prokofieva said.

"I hope that I can learn more on how to do qualitative research as well as how to manage grant projects in general."

The three researchers will investigate the impact of negative experiences on accounting students who withdraw from study.

"Our study will analyse telephone survey data of 200 undergraduate accounting students who withdrew from their studies in 2011. We will look at reasons for departing, with particular reference to demographic factors and pathways into higher education," Dr Prokofieva said.

"The research outcomes from this study will identify activities that ‘attach’ students to the university community and help to align tertiary courses with student expectations."

Dr Prokofieva completed her doctorate in 2004 and has four years' industry experience. Her research interests include accounting education, use of IT in education, and business information systems.

Awards add up for John

John Ibrahim accepts his award from CPA Australia representative, Diana McGowan

A Bachelor of Business (Accounting) student has taken out Most Outstanding Second-Year Student honours in this year's Faculty of Business and Law Awards - a year after receiving the Most Outstanding First-Year Student award. The Most Outstanding Second-Year Student Award was sponsored by CPA Australia.

John Ibrahim, a mature age student, said he was delighted to follow on his first-year success with another award. "It is nice to get the recognition, as I have worked hard," he said.

John admits being mature-aged student has its advantages, giving him a focus, ambition and commitment he may not have had earlier in life. He decided to embark on an accounting degree after 10 years spent managing petrol stations with a business partner.

"Being married and having small children, I realised that I needed a career with longevity that would not be too strenuous as I got older. And I have always had a strong mathematical background: numbers interest me, as does understanding the tax system. I think that kind of knowledge is good to have for anyone interested in business and making good decisions in their career and retirement," John said.

So where does one of the School's most promising students hope to be in five to ten years' time?

"I would be happy to be working with some accounting firm, or have my own accounting firm or a small establishment with a few others." Joanne Carpenter was awarded the Matthews Steer Scholarship for Most Outstanding First Year Student.

See a full list of award winners.

Green Growth and Travelism: Letters from Leaders

Travel and tourism leaders are calling for a new enlightened framework for sustainable tourism in a ground breaking collection of essays compiled by VU academics.

'Green Growth and Travelism: Letters from Leaders' includes pieces by Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson, the Bhutanese Prime Minister and secretaries general of several United Nations agencies, as well as major airline and hotel chain presidents and tourism ministers.

The book, with its 46 ‘letters’ addressing critical issues in global tourism and travel, was launched at last month's United Nations Rio+20 summit on sustainable development.

VU's Adjunct Professor Geoffrey Lipman, Professor Terry DeLacy and Dr Min Jiang edited the high-profile collection aimed at assisting the travel and tourism sector’s transformation to the emerging green growth economy, which is a key theme of the Rio summit.

Professor DeLacy said Rio+20 was the most significant global event in at least a decade for charting a sustainable future.

“The book will help set the future agenda for the tourism and travel industry in relation to sustainability,” he said. “Travel and tourism is by any measure a massive modern day industry – in the same league as cars, oil, telecommunications and agriculture: It drives trillions of dollars in GNP, underpins millions of jobs, makes international business function and is the essence of leisure and happiness. Now this book outlines how it can take its rightful leadership place in moving to the new green economy.”

The book is dedicated to Secretary General of the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992, Maurice Strong, who was at the launch to receive the first copy from Professor Lipman and United Nations World Tourism Organisation Secretary General Taleb Rifai.

While the book brings a global focus to green growth in tourism, it also includes a letter showcasing Melbourne as a sustainable and “most liveable city”, which is co-authored by VU’s Professor Brian King and Destination Melbourne CEO Chris Buckingham.