Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government

Organisations today function in complex and dynamic environments that exert continual pressure on them to change and compete. Employees are often seen as a key to success in this world, being flexible and adaptable resources; however, the quality of an employee's work life plays an important role in ensuring they reach their full potential. The Australian Public Service (APS) has undergone significant changes in the last decade. These have impacted all aspects of work, including workplace interactions amongst employees. This paper reports an exploratory study of negative workplace interactions, also called bullying, amongst colleagues in the APS. Of special interest were the internal organisational forces that created and maintained bullying in the APS. Seven internal organisational factors of significance were identified: structure and size; policies and practices; accountability; culture and climate; leadership and role modelling; the nature of work; and generational differences.

Information technologies have altered the way individuals, businesses and societies live and operate. Along with these changes has come loss of privacy and threats to the security of confidential information. Much research in the social sciences has established marked inter-relationships between technology, society and culture. However, the roles of corporations and governments in ensuring maintenance of security and privacy for citizens are unclear. This study determines and compares the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in both France and Australia in monitoring and responding to security and privacy issues resulting from the introduction of new information technologies. It is found that governments in these countries remain at arm's length from regulation while investing many resources in education of the public and of small business concerning these issues

Economic factors, environmental and social issues, and business and industry developments will all play a major role in the global landscape of the future. Increasing globalisation and market liberalisation and the onrush of new technology have already started to occur. The need to protect the environment, an active ageing of the population combined with a slowing population growth, and a significant structural change in consumption are among the many important challenges for national governments and industrial giants which have dominated almost every aspect of society. This paper reviews emerging trends and drivers which are of critical importance for the future.

Using an information economics framework and a 47-item disclosure index, two determinants (proceeds from share issue and trading volume of shares during the fiscal year) of social and environmental disclosure of 53 Australian and 48 Canadian oil and gas firms were empirically examined. Results indicated that only one information cost proxy (proceeds from share issue) is a significant determinant of the extent of social and environmental disclosure amongst the sample. However, the directional sign of proceeds from share issue was contrary to expectations. Results indicate that firm size is the dominant factor determining the extent of social and environmental disclosure practices in the oil and gas industry. Whilst the empirical findings may not provide overwhelming support for the predicted outcomes, the study is a starting point for exploring alternative theoretical models to explain the type and extent of social and environmental disclosure.

The paper points to the decision support systems' application in improving the Australian Government tobacco control decision processes relevant to adolescents. Most smokers are recruited as juveniles. Once started, there is a tendency for this age group to become addicted to it (Bachman et al., 1997; QUIT, 2006). The research project findings indicate that the Australian Government tobacco control decision process may be influenced by interested groups, is not dealing with tobacco control for adolescents and is not using decision support systems. If applied, however, the theoretical contributions of decision support systems can improve tobacco control decision processes to prevent juveniles becoming smokers and decrease the high death rate caused by smoking-related illnesses.

This study examines Indonesian Accounting Regulatory Compliance (IARC) by analysing companies' financial reports. Agency theory offers insights into the tendency of listed companies to follow the rules particularly to better ascertain whether or not differing ownership and governance structures lead to increased compliance. Analysis reveals a surprisingly low level of only 43 percent compliance with accounting rules. Ttest and statistical regression analysis show that industry type (p-value of 0.013) and auditor type (0.036) are significant predictors of IARC. The level of average compliance is significantly lower than the 88 percent compliance findings of a similar study by Tower, Hancock and Taplin (1999) for other Asian countries. The fundamental implication of the study is that much more regulatory intervention is needed. These findings add to the growing number of studies expressing concern about the issue of lack of effective supervision and sanctions in Indonesia's regulatory compliance (World Bank, 2005).

Mental health is a complex phenomenon depends on a set of familiarly personal,
psychological and social variables. Mental health is an important feature as the physical
health of a person to make him complex with balance mental disposition of the children to
cope with life more effectively and productively.
Effects of Indoor games on Mental Health: In this article, health is considered to be a
dynamic balance between resources and potential risk factors. Sport and physical activity
may represent resources that do not only contribute to an increased well-being, but also to an
improved self-concept as a cognitive representation of one's health-status.It would provide
clue whether sports are truly fulfilling this much-publicized purpose or the differences in
their mental health status are defeating the fundamental purpose of sports promotion.