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This paper aims to describe and analyse the development of a teaching module that introduces undergraduate students to the core skills required to develop and manage a welfare organisation. It makes particular reference to social enterprise.

The paper explores the political and educational context which inspired this initiative and the theoretical basis for the approach used. A particular focus is placed on the entrepreneurial aspects of the development. It moves on to describe the delivery of the module to the first cohort of students and includes their assessment of the learning and an evaluation of how they performed the assessment task.

Students were very positive about the content of the module; the teaching style employed and reported that it had inspired them to be entrepreneurial.

Students who are now paying large sums in fees may well be motivated to enrol on courses that are practice based or enhance professional development through engaging with “real world” issues. Such courses equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to boost their chances of pursuing a career in an area that fits their personal motivations, values and interests.

The paper addresses the real life experience of delivering enterprise skills training to social policy students, a group not traditionally associated with this type of approach. The paper will be of interest to students, academics and practitioners in the fields of contemporary welfare delivery and management who are interested in developing entrepreneurship skills training in higher education and workplace settings.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework to support the embedding of social innovation education in existing academic programmes.

By adopting Conole et al.’s (2004) methodological approach to reviewing, mapping and modelling learning theory, this study addresses four research questions: how can social innovation education be defined? Which learning theories best support social innovation education? How do such learning theories relate to existing models of learning in higher education? What implications does a social innovation pedagogy have for learning design?

Findings suggest that social innovation education is supported by a praxis that is grounded in critical learning theory, transformational learning theory and epistemological development. By extending Conole et al.’s (2004) model of learning theory, the present study proposes a “zone of pedagogical praxis for social innovation education” that supports learning design on a more critical plane.

The proposed model of learning may be of interest to other universities as they work towards stronger thinkers and stronger communities.

Using a theory-informed model for learning design nurtures a pedagogical praxis and underpins the development of a practical toolkit for designing social innovation education.

The findings of this study will provide a point of reference for other higher education institutions as they look for guidance on embedding principles of social innovation into their curricula.

This paper explores factors affecting spending behavior of credit card holders in Malaysia. Specifically, variables such as demographic factors, banks’ policies, and credit card holders’ attitudes toward money are examined.

A cross‐sectional survey through the use of a structured questionnaire was administered on 150 credit card holders based on the area sampling and convenience snowball sampling techniques.

The results indicate that age, income, and marital status have significant correlation with credit card holders’ spending behavior. The same goes to two of the three items identified under banks’ policies (benefits given and payment policies) and attitudes toward money (willingness to pay and awareness of the total debt owed). Occupation, qualifications to apply for credit card, and management of income vs expenses are not significantly related to credit card spending behavior among Malaysians.

The study serves as a guide for researchers to extend the research work covering more variables in different economies in light of the low R² value. The small sample size raises the issue of generalizability, which future studies should address.

The results could be used as a guide by emerging market economies or even developed countries where credit card usage is a widespread phenomenon. It also provides insights to the credit card issuing banks in terms of understanding their target consumers, preferences, and the effect of their policies on credit card application and use.

This study sheds light on credit card spending behavior, particularly among Malaysians.

This study reports on the academic support programs targeting first-year business students at La Trobe Melbourne. The at-risk students were offered both a general academic support class and a content-based program. This study was conducted to explore students' perception of the usefulness of these programs. The paper also aims to create a better intervention to attract more at-risk students by exploring the reasons behind the low rate of at-risk students making use of these services.

The specific research uses a mixed method approach to explore a way to best address the academic needs of the first-year international business students, especially those identified as at-risk students in a college in Melbourne where both a general academic program and a discipline-based program were on offer.

The findings indicate that although the content-based program was highly evaluated by students and also attracted more students than the general support module, many at-risk students did not use this service. The low level of English proficiency, the heavy workload, the passive and dependent learning style, the unclear information about the service and the desire to follow only teachers' guidance all prevented at-risk students from making use of the available services. These students need further help and guidance in this transitional period to recognise the assistance provided for them and to make use of these services to enhance their learning.

Recently, various support activities have been designed to assist international students in enhancing their language and academic skills necessary for pursuing their study in Australia. These activities range from credit-based English for Academic Purposes courses, to optional general language and study programs, and more recently, discipline or content-based programs. There is also a tendency in several universities to move from offering general language and study programs to embedding disciplinary programs. Adopting disciplinary-based academic support activities seem to be the right direction in many universities as these activities are more likely to help increase the overall pass-rate and improve student learning outcomes. However, problems seem to remain when many at-risk international students do not seem to go for these services. This study has led some light on how to improve the future language and academic skills to support activities for first-year overseas business students.

This chapter explores the importance of early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment and diagnosis to facilitate early treatment. This chapter will have a particular focus on ASD assessment and diagnosis within a Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) context. We propose using a Cultural Competence framework to process, analyze, assessment, and diagnosis results/findings. BME assessments/diagnoses can be delayed by up to 18 months longer when compared to Whites.

ASD Assessment aims to assess certain developmental traits in individuals to identify ASD which is a developmental disability. Autism is a spectrum condition which can manifest differently in each diagnosed individual. There are core features necessary for an ASD diagnosis to be made. These include among other traits: poor eye contact, abnormality in body language: for example, gestures, difficulties with social communication and social interaction, often they exhibit repetitive patterns of behavior, have obsessional interests, rigid thinking patterns, and have an aversion to certain sounds and textures and an unusual interest in sensory satisfaction.

This essay explores the reactions within police departments toward sexual harassment scandals. The study describes and analyzes reported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct in police departments to discern citizen narratives and political consequences for elected officials. This assessment hypothesizes that political leadership is an essential element in establishing organizational cultures that combat sexual harassment in local governments. The article contributes to the knowledge about possible gaps in agenda setting, especially for a policy area in which knowledge and problem definitions continue to evolve.

Issues, which have negatively impacted a diversity of business stakeholders, suggest that business thinking and leadership behaviors surrounding a desired strategic business focus appear increasingly inadequate. For example, that integration strategies and differentiation strategies are mutually exclusive. Three issues appear to contribute to such circumstances.

First, Western strategic business frameworks are largely based on quantitative foci, and remain largely unchallenged. Second, balance between key leadership team agendas and external stakeholder expectations is usually absent. Third, there is minimal connection between what organizational cultures reward, and how human resource management prescriptions provide support.

To address such concerns and implant a renewed strategic business focus, Porter and Kramer (2006, 2011) have identified the notion of shared value, which seems an appealing means to redress business problems represented by negative multistakeholder relations; moreover, an absence of any contemporary acknowledgment of the social contract. Nevertheless, a number of elements appear to be missing from the how shared value is portrayed by Porter and Kramer (2006, 2011).

Based on Maslow’s notion of Eupsychia, and employing an Ideation approach, a renewed strategic business focus supporting the notion of shared value is presented. The renewed focus seeks to enhance Porter and Kramer’s (2011) framework, by including key features to enhance shared value, including elements of Eastern and Western philosophy, and Western organization theory.

Problematic examples, identifying the absence of shared value, and including research propositions are identified.