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This paper is based on research into the conduct of PhD vivas, whose aim was to investigate how this examination is experienced by successful candidates, and specifically to address a question raised by previous researchers: Why does a successful viva outcome nevertheless leave some candidates feeling negative about their experience? The focus in this paper is on the language – particularly the figurative language – which successful candidates use to describe their oral examination. It explores the fact that those who reported feeling a sense of achievement were found to employ metaphors and similes of sporting competitions or debate, while candidates who report feeling negative, despite their success, employ imagery relating to imprisonment and interrogation. It goes on to argue that neither of these conceptual models is appropriate for the examination of higher degrees, and that such discrepancy may arise from the way some examiners interpret their role.

This paper explores the direct and indirect associations between financial resilience and life satisfaction, using the moderation of non-impulsive behavior and mediation of financial satisfaction.

The authors analyze the Australian household dataset, named the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, to meet the objectives of this paper. Furthermore, the authors use the PROCESS Models 4 and 7 to test the mediation and the combined moderated mediation relationships, respectively.

The authors find the complete mediation of the relationship between financial resilience and life satisfaction by financial satisfaction. Also, this study finds that both financial resilience and non-impulsive behavior positively contribute to financial satisfaction, which is positively associated with life satisfaction.

This research supports the need for consumers to build emergency funds as financial resilience is related to consumer well-being. This research also recommends that impulsive behavior should be addressed by the personal finance curriculum and financial advisors.

This research contributes by showing that financial satisfaction is an important predictor of consumers’ well-being. The ability to access financial resources, which increases for non-impulsive consumers, is associated with increased life satisfaction but only via financial satisfaction.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the wage differentials along the entire distribution between immigrants and the Australian-born.

Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, the authors apply a semi-parametric method (DiNardo et al., 1996) to decompose the distributional wage gap between immigrants and native-born Australians into composition effect and wage structure effect. The authors further apply the unconditional quantile regression (UQR) method (Firpo et al., 2007) to decompose the overall wage structure effect into contributions from individual wage covariates.

Relative to the native-born, both effects favour immigrants from English-speaking countries. For male immigrants from non-English-speaking countries (NESC) the favourable composition effect is offset by disadvantage in the wage structure effect, leaving little overall wage difference. Female immigrants from NESC are disadvantaged at the lower part of the wage distribution.

The increasingly skill-based immigration policy in Australia has increased skill levels of immigrants relative to the Australian-born. However, the playing field may yet to be equal for the recent NESC immigrants due to unfavourable rewards to their productivity factors. Also, immigrants are not homogeneous. Countries of origin and gender matter in affecting wage outcomes.

The unique wage-setting system and the increasingly skill-based immigration policy have made Australia an interesting case. The authors examine the entire wage distribution between migrants and native-born rather than focus on the mean. The authors differentiate immigrants by their country of origin and gender; and apply the UQR decomposition to identify the contributions from individual wage covariates.

Obesity is a significant public health issue. With obesity increasing worldwide, risk factors for obesity need to be better understood and require careful examination. This study aims to examine mental health as a risk factor for obesity using longitudinal data from Australia.

The main identification strategy relies on the recent death of a close friend and a serious injury or illness to a family member as exogenous shocks to mental health.

The authors’ preferred estimates, which account for the endogeneity of mental health, suggest that mental health has a significant negative impact on obesity. This result proves to be robust to a suite of sensitivity checks. Further investigations reveal that poor mental health leads to increased smoking, which also has an effect on obesity.

The study’s findings provide a new perspective on how good mental health helps curb obesity.

The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate whether social contacts can mediate the way in which current unemployment impacts future unemployment.

We use 2006–2017 data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey and a dynamic random-effects model to describe the evolution of individual unemployment status over time.

Once controlled for the local context where individuals live and create friendships, we find that above-average social contacts reduce unemployment persistence. However, social contacts seem to be slightly less effective in deprived neighborhoods. These findings are consistent with the idea that individuals obtain information about job opportunities through a network of social contacts, and unemployment may lead to a decay of social capital, making it more difficult to find employment in future periods. Our results also show that neighborhood deprivation increases individual unemployment risk, while above-average neighborhood cohesion reduces the probability of unemployment in deprived neighborhoods.

Although many studies have been published on unemployment persistence, to the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study quantifying the impact of social contacts on unemployment persistence. The study also offers fresh empirical evidence on the impact of neighborhood characteristics on unemployment risk.

Relationships have changed dramatically in the last 50 years. Fewer couples are marrying, more are cohabiting. Reasons for this shift include more attractive labor market opportunities for women and changing social norms, but the shift may have consequences of its own. A number of models predict that those cohabiting will specialize less than those marrying. Panel data on time use – particularly housework time – as well as on the degree of specialization in more narrowly defined household tasks from the 2001–2019 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey are used to test this prediction.

The time use data for men provides only limited supporting evidence for specialization. The results for women are much stronger. Women who marry without first cohabiting increase their reported housework time more than those who enter cohabitations (by 3.7 hours versus 1.2 hours). The latter generally make up a third of the difference if they do marry. Expanding the analysis to other uses of time yields some further evidence of specialization.

Survey responses on the degree of specialization are more informative. The raw data show substantial intrahousehold specialization and further analysis reveals that on average married couples specialize more than cohabiting couples. Adding couple-specific fixed effects reveals that specialization increases when cohabiting couples marry. Interestingly, there does not appear to be a substantial tradeoff between tasks; partners who report specializing more on one task are more likely to report specializing on other tasks as well. Given the important roles couples have in family formation and the labor market, it is important to understand this intrahousehold behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the response of the relevant authorities to evidence that female primary schoolteachers have an elevated suicide risk in the UK. The paper situates the recent tragic death of a primary school head teacher, following an Ofsted inspection at her school, within the wider context of teacher suicide deaths and asks what, if any, action the authorities have taken to prevent avoidable suicide deaths from occurring.

The paper examines a recent case of suicide by a primary head teacher within the wider context of statistical data on suicides by primary schoolteachers and in relation to previous cases of suicide linked to a school inspection.

The paper suggests that the relevant authorities have failed to act in relation to evidence of high suicide risk amongst female primary schoolteachers and to previous suicide deaths linked to the impact of a school inspection. Without learning from suicide deaths and acting on available evidence, there is a risk that preventable suicide deaths will continue to occur.

The paper draws together case study evidence and statistical data to make the case for regulatory reform to ensure that work-related suicides are investigated, monitored and prevented.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how food aid providers in Sussex and Southwest London responded and managed during the pandemic.

The methodological approach consists of three inter-related layers. A qualitative description research approach based on naturalistic inquiry, supplemented by site visits and personal observations was used.

The pandemic catalysed dramatic, often positive, changes to the provision of food aid, with a move away from the traditional food bank model. It brought about increased coordination and oversight, as well as the upscaling of capabilities, infrastructure and provisions.

The paper contributes to the literature on food aid in the UK It provides evidence for how providers are transforming the sector for the better and potentially helping to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Financial risk-taking attitude (FRT) plays an important role in consumers' financial decisions, thereby determining consumer well-being. Motivated by the recent research on consumer well-being, this paper explores the relationships between financial literacy, a propensity to plan (PTP), FRT, financial satisfaction and life satisfaction.

The authors use the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to achieve the purpose of this paper. Furthermore, the authors use the variance-based partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), also known as the PLS path modeling approach to test our proposed hypotheses empirically.

The study finds a strong partial mediation of FRT between financial literacy and financial satisfaction. Moreover, the analyses reveal that a high PTP combined with a high FRT results in achieving high financial satisfaction, which leads to improved life satisfaction.

The findings show the importance of creating financial plans in accordance with risk tolerance. While increasing financial literacy is relevant, the research suggests that tools that help consumers plan and invest in appropriate risky investments will lead to better outcomes.

Though scholarly acumen of consumer well-being is rapidly developing, little remains known regarding the collective roles of financial literacy, PTP and FRT. The study addresses this gap by showing that financial literacy, risk-taking attitudes and planning propensities are all interconnected and necessary ingredients to improve financial and life satisfaction.