title: Credit losses in Australasian banking

authors: Hess, Kurt

subjects: banking

abstract: We analyse determinants of bank credit losses in Australasia. Despite sizeable credit losses over the past two decades, ours is the first systematic study to do so. Analysis is based on a comprehensive dataset retrieved from original financial reports of 32 Australasian banks (1980- 2005). Credit losses rise when the macro economy is weak. Asset markets, particularly the equity market, are also important. Larger banks provide more for credit losses while less efficient banks have greater asset quality problems. Strong loan growth translates into significantly higher credit losses with a lag of 2-4 years. Finally, the results show strong evidence of income smoothing
activities by banks.

text: Credit losses in Australasian banking We analyse determinants of bank credit losses in Australasia. Despite sizeable credit losses over the past two decades, ours is the first systematic study to do so. Analysis is based on a comprehensive dataset retrieved from original financial reports of 32 Australasian banks (1980- 2005). Credit losses rise when the macro economy is weak. Asset markets, particularly the equity market, are also important. Larger banks provide more for credit losses while less efficient banks have greater asset quality problems. Strong loan growth translates into significantly higher credit losses with a lag of 2-4 years. Finally, the results show strong evidence of income smoothing
activities by banks.

year: 2008-08

title: The Globalization of English: Its Impact on English Language Education in the Tertiary Education Sector in Taiwan

authors: Her, Jia-Huey

subjects: English language teaching in Taiwan

abstract: The overall agenda for the research reported here grew out of semi-structured
interviews with senior educational managers from a tertiary educational institution
in Taiwan. These managers raised a number of issues, including the changing
profile of tertiary students, the changing nature of English curricula, the
increasing need for English teaching staff to be adaptable, highly qualified and
research-active, and the growing pressure on institutions to introduce English
language proficiency benchmarking. Each of these issues can be related to the
impact of globalization and, in particular, the impact of the globalization of
English, on the education sector. Following a critical review of selected literature
on the impact of globalization on the teaching and learning of English, each of
these issues, as it affects the tertiary education sector in Taiwan, was explored.
Analysis of the Taiwanese national curriculum guidelines for schools, strongly
influenced by academics in the tertiary education sector, revealed a number of
problems relating to a lack of proficiency benchmarking and a lack of coherence,
consistency and transparency in some areas. These problems may be associated
with the initial phase of transition from a grammar-based curriculum to a more
communicatively-oriented, outcomes-centered one. Problems of a similar type
were indicated in responses to questions relating to curriculum matters included in
a questionnaire distributed to a sample of teachers of English in the tertiary sector.
Among other things revealed by questionnaire responses was the fact that many
survey participants had received no training in English teaching.
The results of a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European study)
taken by a sample of entry-level and exit-level Bachelors degree students
indicated a wide variation in proficiency, with individual scores differing by as
much as 64 percentage points in the case of exit-level students. Furthermore, there
was a difference of almost 10 percentage points between the mean scores of
students from two different institutions who had majored in English. These results
indicate some of the difficulties that Taiwan faces in attempting to establish
graduation proficiency benchmarking.
-ii-
C-test participants completed a background questionnaire, the responses
indicating a generally positive attitude towards English-speaking people, a general
willingness to use English in situations where there was the option of not doing
so, and a strong tendency towards instrumental motivation. Although one of the
factors that appeared to have a positive impact on C-test performance was time
spent in an English-speaking country, fewer than 18% of respondents had done so.
Although there appears to be considerable anxiety and uncertainty associated with
the teaching of English at tertiary level in Taiwan, and some genuine cause for
concern, there are also many positive indicators of future success. Teachers and
educational managers are aware of the problems they currently face and appear
determined to resolve them. Taiwanese academics are increasingly involved in
language-related research and increasingly prepared to interrogate their own
practices, and Taiwan, unlike some other countries in Asia, is moving towards
graduation proficiency benchmarking.

text: The Globalization of English: Its Impact on English Language Education in the Tertiary Education Sector in Taiwan The overall agenda for the research reported here grew out of semi-structured
interviews with senior educational managers from a tertiary educational institution
in Taiwan. These managers raised a number of issues, including the changing
profile of tertiary students, the changing nature of English curricula, the
increasing need for English teaching staff to be adaptable, highly qualified and
research-active, and the growing pressure on institutions to introduce English
language proficiency benchmarking. Each of these issues can be related to the
impact of globalization and, in particular, the impact of the globalization of
English, on the education sector. Following a critical review of selected literature
on the impact of globalization on the teaching and learning of English, each of
these issues, as it affects the tertiary education sector in Taiwan, was explored.
Analysis of the Taiwanese national curriculum guidelines for schools, strongly
influenced by academics in the tertiary education sector, revealed a number of
problems relating to a lack of proficiency benchmarking and a lack of coherence,
consistency and transparency in some areas. These problems may be associated
with the initial phase of transition from a grammar-based curriculum to a more
communicatively-oriented, outcomes-centered one. Problems of a similar type
were indicated in responses to questions relating to curriculum matters included in
a questionnaire distributed to a sample of teachers of English in the tertiary sector.
Among other things revealed by questionnaire responses was the fact that many
survey participants had received no training in English teaching.
The results of a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European study)
taken by a sample of entry-level and exit-level Bachelors degree students
indicated a wide variation in proficiency, with individual scores differing by as
much as 64 percentage points in the case of exit-level students. Furthermore, there
was a difference of almost 10 percentage points between the mean scores of
students from two different institutions who had majored in English. These results
indicate some of the difficulties that Taiwan faces in attempting to establish
graduation proficiency benchmarking.
-ii-
C-test participants completed a background questionnaire, the responses
indicating a generally positive attitude towards English-speaking people, a general
willingness to use English in situations where there was the option of not doing
so, and a strong tendency towards instrumental motivation. Although one of the
factors that appeared to have a positive impact on C-test performance was time
spent in an English-speaking country, fewer than 18% of respondents had done so.
Although there appears to be considerable anxiety and uncertainty associated with
the teaching of English at tertiary level in Taiwan, and some genuine cause for
concern, there are also many positive indicators of future success. Teachers and
educational managers are aware of the problems they currently face and appear
determined to resolve them. Taiwanese academics are increasingly involved in
language-related research and increasingly prepared to interrogate their own
practices, and Taiwan, unlike some other countries in Asia, is moving towards
graduation proficiency benchmarking.

year: 2007

title: Insecure, unpredictable, hoping to survive: Four cases of Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Uerata, Lynley Moana

subjects: Māori

abstract: A conceptualisation of precarity is introduced and adopted. A critique of contemporary conceptualisations of precarity is presented, drawing especially on Stuart Hall’s interpretation of articulation and Marx’s concept of relative surplus population. Much of the literature on precarity focusses on the neoliberal mode of contemporary capitalism originating in the late 1970s. However, there is limited literature which explores precarity as a way of life. A precarious way of life is characterised by interacting forms of precarity which embed insecurity, instability, and unpredictability in the everyday lives of real people. An account of the Māori experience of precarity since the pre-colonial era to the present-day is presented. Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand who were colonised by the British Empire in the 1800s. 
The main research questions addressed in my thesis are: What forms of precarity are present in the everyday context? How do forms of precarity relate to each other? How do forms of precarity relate to being Māori? What kinds of support do those living with precarity gain from social structures, institutions, and social actors? What is the role of culture in the way Māori experience and mediate precarity? An analysis of semi-structured in-depth engagements with Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand in 2016, based on four case studies, shows the character and significance of forms, sources, and effects of precarity in everyday life. As historical processes continue to overdetermine experiences of social structures and institutions in the present, in a contemporary capitalist context precarity arises from a wide range of interacting sources, forms, and effects of precarity. Among the different kinds of actors and organisations which comprise the support systems constructed to mediate precarity in the everyday context, cultural practices and resources can play a significant role for people who are culturally connected. When people are integrated into their local and cultural communities, they can cope better with a precarious way of life.

text: Insecure, unpredictable, hoping to survive: Four cases of Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand A conceptualisation of precarity is introduced and adopted. A critique of contemporary conceptualisations of precarity is presented, drawing especially on Stuart Hall’s interpretation of articulation and Marx’s concept of relative surplus population. Much of the literature on precarity focusses on the neoliberal mode of contemporary capitalism originating in the late 1970s. However, there is limited literature which explores precarity as a way of life. A precarious way of life is characterised by interacting forms of precarity which embed insecurity, instability, and unpredictability in the everyday lives of real people. An account of the Māori experience of precarity since the pre-colonial era to the present-day is presented. Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand who were colonised by the British Empire in the 1800s. 
The main research questions addressed in my thesis are: What forms of precarity are present in the everyday context? How do forms of precarity relate to each other? How do forms of precarity relate to being Māori? What kinds of support do those living with precarity gain from social structures, institutions, and social actors? What is the role of culture in the way Māori experience and mediate precarity? An analysis of semi-structured in-depth engagements with Māori people living precariously in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand in 2016, based on four case studies, shows the character and significance of forms, sources, and effects of precarity in everyday life. As historical processes continue to overdetermine experiences of social structures and institutions in the present, in a contemporary capitalist context precarity arises from a wide range of interacting sources, forms, and effects of precarity. Among the different kinds of actors and organisations which comprise the support systems constructed to mediate precarity in the everyday context, cultural practices and resources can play a significant role for people who are culturally connected. When people are integrated into their local and cultural communities, they can cope better with a precarious way of life.

year: 2021