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Senior Indigenous leadership positions across the Australian higher education sector has increased over the past decade. Despite this advancement, there is limited understanding in terms of how to best integrate Indigenous leadership into existing governance structures of Australian universities. In 2018 the Walan Mayiny: Indigenous Leadership in Higher Education project commenced, aimed at establishing a model of best practice for the inclusivity of Indigenous leadership in higher education governance structures. This article presents key findings from the project, namely, a model of senior Indigenous leadership within the Australian universities based on the perceptions of a group of Indigenous academics.

Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with Indigenous academic staff, the perceived value, characteristics and challenges of senior Indigenous leadership were examined. The varying opinions held by Indigenous academics in relation to the qualifications and experience required to fulfil a senior Indigenous leadership position were also highlighted. In doing so, a model of senior Indigenous leadership within the Australian higher education system is presented. The model of best practice presented in this article is underpinned by Indigenous Institutional Theory (Coates et al., 2022), a theoretical framework developed from the Walan Mayiny study.

The research findings highlight the diverse opinions of Indigenous academics in relation to the qualifications and experience required to fulfil a senior Indigenous leadership position. The six essential components are built upon the core characteristics, values and behaviours that senior Indigenous leaders need to have according to Indigenous academics, in order to advance Indigenous success within the academy.

Given Australian universities are being called upon to ensure that senior Indigenous leaders are in the best position possible to forge institutional change, senior Indigenous leaders within the academy may find the contextual Indigenous leadership model beneficial. The model allows one to uphold cultural integrity and fulfil the responsibilities and obligations of their higher education institution, while being able to serve their Indigenous colleagues and communities, leading to the advancement of Indigenous higher education outcomes. Importantly, the model can be adapted to suit all First Nations Peoples globally, who also find themselves working within the shackles of Western institutions.

To increase university–industry collaboration and research commercialisation, the Australian government recently introduced the Intellectual Property (IP) Framework, a set of online standard contracts. This follows a predecessor standard contract initiative, the IP Toolkit, which has not previously been evaluated. This paper aims to examine standard contracting in the innovation sector, tracing the policymaking behind the IP Toolkit using the lens of Macneil’s relational contract theory, to assess prospects of success for the new IP Framework, and similar initiatives in other jurisdictions.

This is a disciplined-configurative case study, drawing on qualitative secondary data analysis and applying Macneil’s relational contracting theory to guide case construction and generate hypotheses around likely success of standard contracting initiatives (stakeholder sentiment, stakeholder adoption). Within-case analysis process-traces development of the IP Toolkit, to discover what the policymakers wanted, knew and computed – and to detail observable implications Macneil’s theory predicts. Its themes are triangulated with multiple sources.

The case study, via Macneil’s theory, confirms the first hypothesis (resistant stakeholder sentiment) and partly validates the second hypothesis (low levels of adoption), demonstrating limited suitability of standard contracting in the dynamic and highly uncertain space of university–industry collaboration.

The study provides insights into the limited role that standard contracts can play in improving national collaborative research and development performance.

This is a novel theory-driven case study triangulated with previously unpublished data on the IP Toolkit’s website usage, and data from recent consultations on the new IP Framework. It has broader implications for other jurisdictions considering adoption of the standard contract model.

A systematic investigation of postgraduate leadership programs for health and/or human services offered by Australian higher education institutions was undertaken.

Quantitative analysis identified the core characteristics of the programs. A thematic analysis of the course learning outcomes was conducted and six major themes of disciplinary leadership and management knowledge; research and analytical skills; professional practice; communication and collaboration; creativity and innovation; and system knowledge are shared in this study.

The authors conclude that Australian universities have taken an evidence-based approach to leadership education.

More work might need to be undertaken to ensure leadership theories are incorporated into learning outcomes.

Identity, positioning and possibilities intersect differently for South Asian women in white academia. Within a broader migrant community that defines Australian life, these identities and positioning imply great possibility, but pursuing such pathways within academia is a walk on the last strand of resilience. This paper explores this tension of possibilities and constraints, using hope theory to highlight the cognitive resistance evident in the narratives of three South Asian women in Australian academia.

The authors use collaborative autoethnography to share their narratives of working in Australian universities at three different stages of careers, utilising Snyder's model of hope theory to interrogate their own goal-setting behaviours, pathways and agentic thinking.

The authors propose that hope as a cognitive state informs resistance and enables aspirations to contribute within academia in meaningful ways whilst navigating the terrain of inequitable structures.

The authors' use of hope theory as a lens on the intersectional experiences of career making, building and progression is a new contribution to scholarship on marginalised women in white academe and the ways in which the pathways of resistance are identified.

In this paper, the authors will examine Welch's legacy and aftermaths, both for GE and more broadly within management practice and academic thought. As a complex character, indeed a person of many contradictions, the authors try to avoid polemics in this, instead focusing on his accomplishments and the unanswered questions about his impact.

This paper is a historical case using secondary and published materials to assess the case of Jack Welch's leadership of General Electric over the period 1981–2001.

Welch's proponents suggest he emphasized controlling corporate destiny, being open to new ideas, pursuing quality and low cost, having confidence, a vision founded on reality, a global focus and possessing energy and enthusiasm. However, his short-termist perspective undermined the long-term success of the company and his “win at any cost” mantra predisposed some employees to cutting ethical or environmental corners. As the market capitalization gains evaporated that had been used to justify the “end justifies the means” rationale, little is left of his legacy.

The paper discusses the implications of the GE case for issues associated with corporate governance, financialization and human resource management.

This is a timely reconsideration of the Jack Welch legacy two years after his death. In avoiding polemics and seeking a considered assessment of his positive and negative outcomes, the paper is an important addition to the research on Welch and American management thought.

Work readiness is an important aspect of the transition from higher education to professional practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of work readiness of individuals transitioning into physiotherapy practice in Australia and identify any association with personal, education and work factors.

Purpose-built surveys were distributed to final-year students and graduates of physiotherapy programmes nationally. Work readiness was measured using the recently validated Work Readiness Scale for Allied Health Professionals 32 (WRS-AH32), which captures the following four domains: Practical Wisdom, Interpersonal Capabilities, Personal Attributes and Organisational Acumen. The surveys also included personal, education and work data. Work readiness was expressed as percentages for total work readiness and within each domain. Independent t-tests were used to examine the influence of personal, education and work factors on work readiness.

176 participant responses were analysed (84 students and 92 graduates). Total work readiness was 80% [standard deviation (SD)8], with Practical Wisdom the highest scoring domain (91%, SD8) and Personal Attributes the lowest scoring domain (65%, SD14). Considering overall work readiness, individuals reporting some psychological symptoms scored lower than asymptomatic individuals [mean difference 7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4 to 9)] and final-year students scored less than graduates [mean difference 3% (95%CI 0 to 5)].

All stakeholders, including individuals, universities and employers, need to consider further strategies to develop aspects of work readiness, particularly within the domain of Personal Attributes and those with psychological symptoms.

This study demonstrates that physiotherapy students and graduates perceive themselves to be well prepared to transition to the workforce.

This study aims to investigate the level of online sustainability disclosure provided by international universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ultimate goal is to identify the factors influencing the amount of sustainability information these universities disclose through their websites.

This study conducts a manual content analysis to measure the extent to which a sample of 100 international universities disseminate information on sustainability and COVID-19 issues via the web. A multiple regression analysis is performed to test the research hypotheses.

The findings confirm that universities worldwide leverage the potential of websites to convey sustainability information beneficial for stakeholders and society. Moreover, while board gender diversity positively affects the level of online sustainability disclosure, board size exerts a negative effect. Furthermore, university size, internet visibility and ranking position have no significant impact on the amount of online sustainability information provided by international universities.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that provides insight into the possible determinants of universities’ online sustainability reporting during COVID-19. This study extends prior research mainly conducted in single countries by providing data on the sustainability disclosure level of universities in different geographical regions. Empirical findings also support policymakers’ global action in the past decade to increase the role of women in leadership and governing positions.

Universities globally have faced the introduction of research performance assessment systems that provide monetary and ranking rewards based on publication outputs. This study aims to seek an understanding of the implementation of performance-based research funding (PBRF) and its impact on the heads of departments (HoDs) and accounting academics in New Zealand (NZ) tertiary institutions. The study explores NZ accounting academics’ experiences and their workload; the relationship between teaching and research in the accounting discipline and any issues and concerns affecting new and emerging accounting researchers because of PBRF.

Applying an institutional theoretical lens, this paper explores accounting HoDs’ perceptions concerning the PBRF system’s impact on their academic staff. The research used semi-structured interviews to collect data from NZ’s eight universities.

The key findings posit that many institutional processes, some more coercive in nature, whereas others were normative and mimetic, have been put in place to ensure that academics are able to meet the PBRF requirements. HoDs suggest that their staff understand the importance of research, but that PBRF is a challenge to new and emerging researchers and pose threats to their recruitment. New academics must “hit the ground running” as they must demonstrate not only teaching abilities but also already have a track record of research publications; all in all, a daunting experience for new academics to overcome. There is also a teaching and research disconnect. Furthermore, many areas where improvements can be made in the design of this measurement tool remain.

The PBRF system has significantly impacted on accounting academics. Central university research systems were established that subsequently applied coercive institutional pressures onto line managers to ensure that their staff performed. This finding offers scope for future research to explore a better PBRF that measures and rewards research productivity but without the current system’s unintended negative consequences.

This case study explores different perspectives on integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in universities to achieve university transformations. This study recognises that university actors think differently about the purpose of universities, hold diverse perspectives on the SDGs, and, thus, prefer specific types of SDG integration.

Using Q methodology, 29 participants from one university expressed their perspectives by sorting 50 statements covering different types of SDG integration. Statements were based on academic and grey literature on SDG integration in universities, and interviews with university actors from a previous study. After the sorting task, participants were interviewed to understand the reasons behind the placement of particular statements.

The study identifies three perspectives held by the study participants. Perspective 1 emphasises the value of the SDGs and supports a deep integration of the Goals in their university. Perspective 1 also advocates for incorporating the SDGs into the university’s identity. Perspective 2 sees the university’s purpose as more comprehensive than the SDGs; thus, the university should develop knowledge regardless of its relevance to the SDGs. This perspective supports a pragmatic integration of the SDGs – favouring actions that benefit the university without introducing significant changes. Finally, Perspective 3 argues that the university should approach the SDGs through social justice and empowerment lenses. This perspective also questions the suitability of the SDGs for universities, arguing that the SDGs fail to challenge current structures underpinning the unsustainability of the world.

Although previous studies have analysed diverse ways of understanding the SDGs in universities, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to treat the SDGs as a governance framework of 17 goals and adopt a whole-institution approach to study universities.

Invented in late 1890s, asbestos cement sheeting rose to prominence during the post-Second World War period as a building material for low-cost housing by state housing commissions and low-income families (“fibro homes”). The adverse health effects of asbestos fibres in the building industry and home renovation activities are well documented. Fibro homes of the 1950s and 1960s are increasingly coming under the gaze of heritage studies, which brings to the fore the question of how to deal with the asbestos cement sheeting most are clad with.

This paper provides the first systematic review to assess the literature (126 papers were identified in Google Scholar and scanned for content) on the conservation management of asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties.

Overall, engagement with the conservation management of asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties was low, with only two sources dealing with asbestos cement sheeting in any level of detail. The studies note that if asbestos cement sheeting is in good condition, it should be left alone. Numerous conservation and repair options do exist, in particular the application of (coloured) sealants that extend the life of asbestos cement sheets and asbestos cement roofing.

This paper represents the first systematic review to assess conservation management options for asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties.