Industry Members Research Articles

The Evolution and Consolidation of External Dispute Resolution Schemes in the Financial Sector: From the Banking Ombudsman to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority

The Australian Banking Industry Ombudsman (ABIO) was the first external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme set up and funded by industry members at a national level in Australia. It came into operation in 1990. The ABIO was a significant first step in the development of EDR schemes to resolve disputes between financial service providers and consumers. At one stage there were seven different industry-funded EDR schemes in existence in the financial sector. However, the existence of multiple schemes proved to be problematic. Several of the EDR schemes merged in 2008 to create the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), and in November 2018, FOS, the Credit and Investments Ombudsman and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal were replaced by a single body, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. This article examines the establishment of the ABIO, outlines the expansion of industry-established EDR schemes operating in the financial sector, and then considers the arguments for the consolidation of the schemes.

Students’ perceptions of an interdisciplinary global study tour: uncovering inexplicit employability skills

ABSTRACTFor higher education graduates to be effective in the workplace, they require strong technical skills and the capability to operate across diverse knowledge landscapes to solve real world problems. At an Australian university, an interdisciplinary, short-term study tour programme was utilised to enhance students’ inexplicit employability skills with a focus on managing complexity while developing agility and creativity. To investigate the effectiveness of such a programme, we examined students’ perceptions of an interdisciplinary teamwork assessment task that was undertaken in an international context via a study tour model. We achieved this by, first, introducing a purposely designed interdisciplinary teamwork assessment task, which focused on students presenting innovative ideas to peers and industry members. Second, we elicited student responses via a case study approach that incorporated mixed methods, utilising several data collection instruments prior to, during, and after students participated in a study tour. The findings suggest that integrating a purposely designed interdisciplinary teamwork assessment task, via a short-term study tour model, uncovered certain inexplicit employability skills, namely managing complexity, developing agility and creativity. We make specific recommendations to support this insight, contributing to the mobility teaching and learning research field.

Timeseries Forecasting using Long Short-Term Memory Optimized by Multi Heuristics Algorithm

Forecasting future price of financial instruments (such as equity, bonds and mutual funds) has become an ongoing effort of financial and capital market industry members. The most current technology is usually applied by high economic scale companies to solve the ambitious and complicated problem. This paper presents optimization solution for a deep learning model in forecasting selected Indonesian mutual funds' Net Asset Value (NAV). There is a well-known issue in determining a deep learning parameters in LSTM network like window timestep and number of neurons to be used in getting the optimal learning from the historical data. This research tries to provide solution by utilizing multi-heuristics optimization approach consists of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to determine the best LSTM's network parameters, namely window timesteps and number of neurons. The result shows that from the nine selected mutual funds, PSO outperforms GA in optimizing the LSTM model by giving a lower Root Square Mean Error (RMSE) by 460.84% compared to GA's. However, PSO took a longer execution time by 1.78 times of GA's. This paper also confirms that based on RMSE for both training and evaluation dataset, equity mutual fund's forecasted NAV has the highest RMSE followed by fixed income mutual fund's forecasted NAV and money market mutual fund forecasted NAV.

Sustainable Development Model for the Automotive Industry

The relationship between sustainability and business has become one of the central debates at the national and international level in both industrialized and emerging countries. A series of existing business models lack some critical aspects. The automotive industry strongly affects economic development, requiring rethinking business models in order to reduce their impact on the environment. An evaluation of the websites of the major automotive industry companies shows they have reported sustainability (through different methods) and present various practices in implementing organizational sustainability (OS). This paper aims to present a new business model for the automotive industry that takes into account the three dimensions of sustainability and emphasizes the importance of involving stakeholders in the OS approach. This model is developed based upon the literature review of three focus groups with a participation of 33 automotive industry members, of which three are highly-skilled experts of the industry. The proposed sustainable development model is scientifically relevant as it considers that all dimensions of sustainability exist and aims to increase organizational capacity for sustainable organizational development. It is also relevant from a practical point of view because it has been developed and validated by industry experts with automotive industry companies, taking into account the industrial, technical, and technological requirements for organizational sustainability assessment. The findings of this research will guide shareholders and managers in planning and developing organizational strategies.

Vol. XIII No. 2 Underwriters

Journal Underwriters are companies who support the DFI mission and that of its international peer-reviewed publication which brings research and practice-oriented topics on a broad range of subjects for the deep foundation engineering and construction industry members.

Forest outgrower schemes in small and medium-sized farmers in Brazil

Outgrower schemes are an alternative for supplying companies and can generate benefits for both the farmers and for the community. The main reasons that lead companies to adopt this type of strategy are the reduction of investment in land purchases, lower cost of wood at the factory, to increase the diversification of sources of raw materials, as well as greater integration with landowners close of companies. Of the total of 7.84 million hectares of trees planted in Brazil in 2016, 34% belonged to companies in the pulp and paper industry, 29% were independent operators and participants in outgrower schemes, and the charcoal-fired steel industry represented 14% of the planted area. In 2016, 19,900 people benefited from the outgrower programs adopted by Brazilian Tree Industry (IBÁ) member companies, planting 545,000 ha. For rural producers, the forest development consists of an alternative to traditional income generation to their properties, which may use idle or underused areas with low technical risk due to production inputs and technical assistance provided by the companies. The most frequent outgrower modalities include providing forest species seedlings, revenue anticipation programs and wood purchase guarantee at harvest time. For the community, these include the possibility of creating new wood-based forest business and generating jobs in the region. This program prevents land concentration, makes local activities feasible, creates opportunities of additional income and assists in settling people in the countryside. Also, greatly improves the acceptability of eucalypt plantations in the region and is positive for the certification of forest products. From the environmental standpoint, outgrower scheme mitigates the pressure on native forests, recovers degraded soils and promotes soil conservation.

Blue Ocean Strategy for creating Value of the Organization: Examination of Differentiation with Red Ocean Strategy

For creating new demands and open up a new market space the pursuit of differentiation can be consider as Blue ocean strategy. For capturing and creating uncontested market space so it can make the irrelevant competition Blue ocean strategy is used. The Blue ocean strategy is based on the concept that industry structure and market boundaries can be reconstructed by beliefs and actions of industry members

No pixel left behind: Toward integrating Earth Observations for agriculture into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework

Remotely sensed Earth observations (EO) have their history firmly rooted in agricultural monitoring, and more recently with applications in food production, food security, and sustainable agriculture. Still, after more than 45 years of observing the Earth's land surface, usage of EO data by operational monitoring entities concerned with global agriculture is uneven. One reason for this is a gap in continuous communication and collaboration between those who undertake research and development of methods for cropland assessment and monitoring, and those who have the mandate to report on agricultural indicators at a national, regional, and global scales. The recent international policy focus on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development via its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is giving increased attention to measurements and indicators for monitoring and measuring progress for meeting these goals. Satellite EO provide a source of measurements beyond traditional census data collection and statistical reporting. In this vein, this overview paper describes the current and potential uses of EO data and tools that can support the SDGs, particularly highlighting the activities of the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) Initiative. GEOGLAM is composed of agricultural ministries, intergovernmental organizations, research entities, universities, space agencies, and members of industry concerned with agricultural monitoring. This GEOGLAM community has a broad portfolio of activities which provide information on the state and changes in agricultural production and land use that can be considered as contributions to both supporting the attainment of several of the 17 SDGs and many of their 169 Targets, as well as monitoring their achievement via the Global Indicator Framework. GEOGLAM contributes in particular to Goal 2: Zero Hunger, but also has less immediately apparent contributions in the realms of water (Goal 6), responsible consumption and production (Goal 12), climate action (Goal 13), life on land (Goal 15), and global partnerships for sustainable development (Goal 17). We further characterize the applicability and use of EO data products and tools as they correspond with the United Nations Interagency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG-SDGs) Global Indicator Framework. This inventory will be complemented by a discussion of the intersection of other policy mandates with the SDGs in the agriculture and food security contexts, and will conclude with a discussion of approaches to improving awareness of EO value and bridging the gap between policy and EO communities, to the societal benefit of all with no one left behind.

Lightweight timber I-beams reinforced by composite materials

Due to high performance, I-beams are one of the most common flexural members in the construction industry. This research experimentally and numerically investigates bending and shear strengths of lightweight composite I-beams made of timber with a view to enhancing the structural performance of the I-beams by reinforcing them using composite materials. Failure of the plain (unreinforced) specimens was examined by preliminary tests, and these results were then used to develop different strengthening strategies with respect to the principles of composite functionality. The efficiency of developed strengthening methods was experimentally examined, wherein load carrying capacity was increased by 70%. Additionally, a substantial amount of energy absorption and ductility boost was obtained for the reinforced composite beams relative to the plain specimens. FEA models reliably predicted and verified the experimental results of this research.

Consumers’ perceptions towards Thai rice

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer preferences towards innovative rice products, and cross-cultural determinants of customers’ perceived value and loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered survey was designed to obtain participants’ perceptions about Thai rice, and preferences towards innovative Thai rice products. A total of 937 surveys were distributed and 908 valid surveys were returned, yielding a 96.7 per cent overall response rate. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assure the reliability and validity of the measures used in the survey instrument. Structural equation modelling was employed to assess the five hypothesised relationships between the four elements of the marketing mix, customer perceived value, and post-purchase behaviour, and to compare the path coefficients across the two cultural groups.FindingsThe findings reported herein show that eastern and western customers’ perceptions of marketing mix variables positively impact their perceptions of value, in turn, enhancing their loyalty to Thai rice. A successful marketing strategy should meet changing customer needs through adopting new products, services and unique marketing mix bundles. Such strategies should be tailored to the differing needs across cultures, and can address issues arising from changing competitive and environmental landscapes.Research limitations/implicationsThe first limitation concerns the scope of the study. Specifically, the authors only conducted surveys during a two-month time period in 2018; the sampling sites were limited to several shopping malls in Bangkok; and the authors surveyed a high proportion of young, single, educated participants. The second limitation pertains to the selection and adaptation of constructs and their observed variables (such as the 4P indicators). Most of the observed variables were selected based on a literature review and the opinions of the scholars who participated in this study.Practical implicationsThese results should be beneficial to members of the international rice industry, Thai rice exporters, the Thai government and to academics. Long-term success will be supported by focused attention on target segments and launch of innovative rice products that match differing preferences across nationalities.Originality/valueUnderstanding consumers’ perspectives and preferences are critical to appropriate positioning and marketing of value-added Thai rice products. This study represents one of the first attempts to integrate marketing mix decisions, customers’ perceived value and loyalty within a Thai rice purchase behaviour context across eastern and western customers.

Fitness industry self-regulation: institutional or by choice?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to document and explore the perceptual motivations for voluntary and continued affiliation with a fitness industry register by its affiliates (“members”) and non-affiliates (“non-members”). The formation of fitness industry registers to impart self-regulation is a common global occurrence. Their sustainment, however, is reliant on the motivations and voluntary support of industry members. Limited work has been done in this area.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study uses the interpretive research paradigm, involving semi-structured interviews with 12 Auckland, New Zealand, fitness centre managers, industry associations, New Zealand Register of Exercise Professionals (Reps NZ) and Fitness New Zealand. Lenox’s (2006) participation-contingent benefits framework provides the necessary lens to explore the perceptual motivations behind participation/non-participation by fitness centres with an industry self-regulatory system (i.e. Reps NZ).FindingsWhereas participation-contingent benefits are perceived minimal, and exceeded by affiliation limitations, there is institutional congruence for industry regulation to exist, thus creating institutional pressures that encourage affiliation and retention. Whereas affiliates choose to absorb the associated inconveniences of affiliation to “support” Reps NZ, non-affiliates question the register’s regulatory form, choosing to avoid the affiliation costs and limitations.Originality/valueThis study lends further support that institutional development is crucial for inclusive, substantive and sustainable self-regulatory systems. Regardless of the perceived low return on participation-contingent benefits, industry self-regulation can be sustained if there is a desire by industry members to maintain the institutional notion that the regulation needs to exist.

Identifying research priorities in eating disorders: A Delphi study building consensus across clinicians, researchers, consumers, and carers in Australia.

Eating disorders are underrepresented among successful applications for medical research funding. Developing agreement on the top research priorities may assist in fostering collaborations, innovation, and meaningful consumer and carer involvement. This study aimed to develop consensus among Australian clinicians, researchers, consumers, carers, and interested members of affiliated industries, on the priorities for eating disorders research. The Delphi expert consensus method was used. Participants were 291 members of the Australia New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) or the National Eating Disorders Collaboration (NEDC). Three panels were formed based on participant expertise: "ED Specialists," Consumers/Carers, and Affiliates. A total of 32 potential research areas (29 in Survey 1, 3 in Survey 2) were rated on a 5-point scale of importance, with 80% agreement across all three panels required for endorsement as a priority. Participants also ranked 7 broad research domains in order of priority. Research areas describing early intervention and evidence-based treatments were the most highly rated, with more than 90% endorsement from each of the three panels. The research domains of accessible evidence-based treatments, early intervention and detection, and origins of eating disorders, were the most highly ranked. The ED specialists and Consumers/Carers panels had very similar patterns of responding, while the Affiliates panel showed small differences. Using the Delphi expert consensus method resulted in a collaborative consensus driven eating disorders research agenda for the Australian context and forms a model upon which other countries may also develop their funding priorities.

Design for Dissent: Political Participation and Social Activism in the Colombian Fashion Industry

In recent years, Colombia has experienced a renewed interest in social, political, and humanitarian issues, within a stormy political climate marked by the signing of a peace agreement in 2016 and the polarizing presidential elections of 2018. Trying to forge alliances within a politically polarized nation, social and political movements have focused on the need to end a long-lasting internal conflict; the desire for the safe reallocation and reparation of victims of forced displacement; and the rejection of gender-based violence. Fashion, as a rightly sensitive social barometer, has taken active part in the debates around these issues. From members of the fashion elite openly supporting a certain presidential candidate, to brands taking inspiration from social issues in their collections, it is evident that recent political happenings are central to the Colombian fashion industry. Studying a number of collections, images, and social media communications of major fashion brands of international renown, smaller, local designers, and celebrated fashionistas, this paper studies the ways in which members of the Colombian fashion industry have taken to political participation and social activism within the current political climate. It provides insight on how fashion, among other cultural processes, becomes political in times of uncertainty and transition.

Market Stance: Navigating Face‐Threatening Terrain in Indian Real Estate

“This article advances a linguistic anthropological understanding of economic performativity by investigating how people uphold face when it is tied up in business performance. Analyzing interviews with the owners of Indian real estate firms, I demonstrate that under troubled market conditions, market indicators become indexical signs that can threaten a real‐estate professional's face, necessitating interactional repositioning vis‐à‐vis market descriptions, or varied ''market stances'. As they regiment market dynamics as objects of stance‐taking in interactions, industry members create emergent models of market activity shaped by multiple value projects. Such market stances are resources in performances aimed at shaping people's economic expectations and garnering capital.”

(Invited) H-Mat: Enhancing the Durability and Affordability of Metals and Polymers in Hydrogen Service

The H-Mat national laboratory consortium is conducting cross-cutting, foundational R&D to enhance the durability of key polymers and metals in hydrogen service. Technologies utilized in hydrogen service commonly face stresses that influence materials compatibility, such as cryogenic temperatures, fatigue loading, and corrosive environments. Industries in which hydrogen compatibility can heavily influence materials selection are diverse, and include fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), nuclear energy technologies, oil & gas sectors, and vehicle lightweighting applications. H-Mat R&D aims to enhance fundamental understanding of materials’ behavior in hydrogen, with a current focus on materials used onboard FCEVs and at fueling stations. Key research thrusts include: 1) development of novel experimental polymers with enhanced durability in hydrogen pressure cycles, 2) microstructural engineering to enhance the fracture toughness of high-strength steels in hydrogen, 3) development of higher-fidelity predictions of crack initiation in steels in hydrogen service, and 4) evaluation of the effects of moisture on hydrogen induced degradation in aluminum alloys. These R&D thrusts are targeted to enhance durability of hydrogen seals by 50%, fracture resistance of pressure vessel steels by 50%, and life of pressure vessels by 50%. H-Mat is led by Sandia National Laboratories and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, with participation from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory. Members of industry and academia are encouraged to engage with the consortium through cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) and funding opportunity announcement (FOA) awards. For more information, please see: https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h-mat-hydrogen-materials-consortium

Mid-Atlantic wine tourism consumer preference: an econometric approach

PurposeUsing an econometric approach, this study aims to examine Mid-Atlantic USA wine consumers’ willingness to participate in winery or vineyard tours based on their wine knowledge, wine drinking occasions, demographical factors, past experience with wine tourism and wine purchasing behaviors.Design/methodology/approachAn internet-based consumer survey (N = 977) conducted 22-24 October 2014 was used to collect data. The screening criteria for the survey participants were: 1) being a resident of the Mid-Atlantic region (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, USA), 2) at least 21 years old, 3) not an industry member, and 4) having purchased and consumed wine within the past year. In addition to descriptive statistics, a logistic regression was used to estimate consumers’ willingness to participate in winery or vineyard tours. Independent variables were categorized into five groups: sources of wine knowledge, wine drinking occasions, demographical factors, past experience and wine purchasing behaviors.FindingsWith 736 valid observations, the logistic regression shows that males are more likely to be interested in winery or vineyard tours, while young adults (<25 years old) are less likely. Learning about wines from winery tasting room staff members, from wine magazines or from local and regional magazines are the top three positive influencers on interest in these activities. Past wine tourism experience in the Mid-Atlantic region, drinking wine as an everyday beverage and giving wines as gifts also show a positive relationship with likelihood of participating in these activities.Practical implicationsStudy results can help the Mid-Atlantic wine industry understand wine tourists’ behaviors and preferences. Advertising in wine magazines and local and regional magazines can be used to target wine consumers interested in winery or vineyard tours. Attributes (i.e. past experience with wine tourism and gaining knowledge from winery tasting room staff) that are related to the quality of wine tourism experience were identified. Participants were also interested in purchasing wine from the winery during or after participating in wine tourism activities; therefore, wineries should focus on guest interactions to encourage such purchases.Originality/valueThis survey collected data from both consumers who had or who lacked wine tourism experience, which allowed us to gather input from wine drinkers who had not necessarily visited tasting rooms. This survey instrument can be used to collect data from wine consumers residing in regions where the presence of wineries and wine tourism is low, which can provide insight that otherwise might be influenced by currently offered wine tourism activities. This paper uses an econometric approach to understand consumer interests in wine tourism in the Mid-Atlantic region and provides a comprehensive, clear and informative profile of likely wine tourism participants who reside in a region that has not been studied comprehensively.

Participatory Research Engages Industry and Leads to Adoption of Methods That Challenge Long-Held Production Standards

A citizen science project engaged wine industry professionals in challenging the long-held belief that low yields are required for production of high-quality wine. Strategies emerged for the planning and implementation of projects involving industry members as citizen scientists. Keys to success included factors related to industry inclusion, planning, coordination, and communication. Direct industry involvement in the research project strengthened industry–university relationships and led to the adoption of new production practices that had been difficult to bring about prior to facilitation of industry members' firsthand experimentation.

The Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture Crop Basis Tool

The Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture Crop Basis Tool is an open-access web-based tool that provides members of the grain industry with access to weekly historical and contemporaneous corn and soybean basis data for local market regions in the eastern Corn Belt. Previously unavailable to most producers in the region, the information the Crop Basis Tool provides has the potential to greatly improve producers' marketing risk management decisions through improved basis forecasts. In addition, there are a myriad of opportunities for Extension personnel to incorporate the Crop Basis Tool in their marketing risk management education and outlook programming.

Influence mechanism of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing among project members

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the influence mechanism of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing among project members in Chinese construction industry, and test the moderating role of organizational commitment between them in order to find a new approach from the perspective of psychology to improve the knowledge sharing performance within project management organizations in China constantly.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was used based on confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis with a sample of 540 project members from 80 project management organizations in China.FindingsResearch results showed that job satisfaction and positive affect of project members both have a significant positive impact on knowledge sharing; organizational commitment could moderate the influence of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing among project members partially within the Chinese context.Research limitations/implicationsA questionnaire study from China only represents the relationship and regular pattern within a shorter time interval in the Chinese context. It is necessary to continue to implement a longitudinal study in a relatively long period in future research.Practical implicationsKnowledge sharing among project members can be enhanced through improving job satisfaction and positive affect, and strengthening project members’ organizational commitment can amplify the influence effect of job satisfaction and positive affect on knowledge sharing.Originality/valueThis paper clarifies the direct influence mechanism of project members’ job satisfaction and positive affect on explicit knowledge sharing (EKS) and tacit knowledge sharing (TKS), and further tests the partial moderating effect of organizational commitment on the influence relationship of job satisfaction and positive affect on EKS and TKS.

135 Developing foundational courses to support undergraduate student success in animal science departmental core curriculum

Abstract Today’s student population comes from highly diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, entering college with a range of life experiences and professional aspirations. The selection of and success upon entering a major is highly influenced by those factors. As society has progressed, the principle purposes of the animal science discipline have remained intact, but the industry scope has expanded as has the range of background knowledge and experience of students entering the major. To address these changes a data-driven, student-centered curriculum study was conducted. Stakeholder (comprised of industry members, faculty, current and former students) surveys (n = 289) served as a foundational component of the study. Survey responses revealed the existence of a gap between student knowledge and skills and faculty expectations upon entering disciplinary core courses, which were deemed necessary to gain proficiency in areas identified by industry stakeholders. To address that gap, collaborative efforts between Animal Science Department faculty and members of the University Center for Teaching Excellence, as well as findings from the data generated as part of the curriculum redesign process, were used to identify two new courses for development: Farm Animal Biosystems and Livestock Production Systems. Each course incorporates departmental learning outcomes, assessments, and specified teaching methods into their syllabi. Furthermore, they illustrate a novel approach to addressing the disparity in student background knowledge and skills. Rather than assuming a standardized level of skill and addressing only gaps in knowledge or vice versa, key areas have been identified and separated for individualized focus in order to provide students with a solid foundation in both the scientific and applied components of the discipline. Successful completion of these courses will enable students to enter the specialized disciplinary core classes with a more uniform knowledge base, thus promoting success throughout the curriculum