RMIT COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

INAUGURAL HIGHER DEGREE BY RESEARCH

STUDENTS’ COLLOQUIUM 1st September
2010:

‘Towards the future’

Hosted by the School of Management

GUIDELINES FOR ABSTRACTS

Presentation at the Inaugural HDR Colloquium is highly

recommended for all Masters by Research and PhD students.

Requirements:

o You should consult your supervisor when preparing your

Abstract.
o You should submit your Abstract for the HDR Colloquium in
soft copy to Bruce Renick: Email – som.hdr@rmit.edu.au
by 5pm 30 July 2010.
o Abstracts should not exceed one A4 page, using Times New
Roman, font size 12, single line spacing, and 2.5 cm margins.
Abstracts submitted after the deadline will not be published or
considered in the proceedings.
o All Abstracts will be reviewed by College of Business academic
staff

Your Abstract should typically include:

1) The nature of the research problem you are examining or the

topic of your investigation.
2) Why it is interesting and worth studying.
3) Key pointers from the literature (but not extensive
references)
4) The methodology you have chosen and the reasons for your
choice.
5) The problems you expect to encounter or are in the process of
resolving.
6) What contributions and/or management implications your
research is likely to generate

A prize will be awarded for the best Abstract. The final decision will
rest on the quality of the Abstract submitted and the winner will be
announced at the Conference Lunch on Wednesday 1st September.

The Abstracts will be published in the Colloquium Proceedings.

Sample Abstract Formats

Sample A
Name of Student and Division:
Name of Supervisor(s):

Presentation Title: ICT for sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention among the
rural youth in Uganda

Background: Fighting HIV/AIDS has been a global concern, especially among the youth who
are not only the most sexually active population group, but also most economically
productive. This research will be nested in the ongoing WSWM (World Starts With Me) project
that is incorporating a web-based sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum in
secondary schools in Uganda. Particular focus will be put on rural youth, mainly girls, who are
more likely than boys to be infected with AIDS, drop out of schools to nurse their sick
relatives, and face other kinds of pervasive prejudice and social stigma.
Objectives: The overall aim will be to discover whether a web-based sexual health education
is a concept that school management, teachers, parents, religious leaders and students
would wish to embrace or whether it a necessary burden they would rather not cope with in
terms of its integration into the existing curricula, changing work loads, stakeholders’ cultures,
user satisfaction, level of privacy permitted, accessibility, and teachers’ confidence.
Literature Pointers: Much concern has been expressed about the role of ICT in fighting
HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases among the youth. Focus has generally
been put on the use of traditional broadcasting technologies of radio and television which are
the most prevalent forms of ICT in Africa. There is however a dearth of research (if any) on
how modern ICT for HIV/AIDS protection and prevention can be effectively implemented,
particularly in schools; the gathering area for many youth. The adoption of such a system
depends heavily on its ability to match the prevailing beliefs in Uganda where talking about
sex is regarded a taboo. Lack of youth-friendly services for HIV/AIDS protection and
prevention has been well-documented in literature. Failure is to involve the youth in designing
such programs is cited a major cause for such mismatch between users’ needs and what
actually the programs provide. Thus, it’s vital to get views from various stakeholders in order
to understand adoption challenges and user needs, if such programmes are to be fully
utilised.
Problem Statement: Introducing a web-based sexual health education system in schools is a
promising weapon in Uganda where AIDS has consumed millions of young people. However,
such a system is likely to be received with scepticism and doubts from teaching practitioners,
parents and religious leaders not only due to religious and social sensitiveness to sexuality
and HIV/AIDS in Uganda, but also the questions of the availability of technological skills,
ability to fit within the existing schools’ routines, and the extent it can satisfy user needs
remain unanswered.
Methods and Justification: Between Sept.08 and June.09, semi-structured qualitative
interviews and observation will be used to collect data from 40-50 stakeholders including,
teachers, parents, management, religious leaders and students of 10-15 schools that have
already have incorporated a web-based sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum.
Such data will be based on specific practical experiences of schools in incorporating such
systems, rather than relying on theoretical claims. Qualitative approaches will be used since
they are deemed appropriate for researching people as regards their behaviours, attitudes,
experiences and cultures, of which this research aims to explore.
Anticipated Problems: The hassles of gaining access from project leaders have already
been solved, but there is still need to gain informed consent from the interviewees. In
addition, the research schedule will have to fit within the schools timetables and may be
interfered by holidays.
Expected Results: A model for effective utilisation of ICT to support sexual and reproductive
health education. This model can be used to revise the current intervention, guide the design
of future interventions and inform policy makers, researchers, educational practice, and the
general public. Thus, the research will contribute to the global effort to build HIV resilient
communities everywhere.
SAMPLE B

Name of Student and Division:

Name of Supervisor(s):
Presentation Title: Corporate Social Responsibly in the Chinese Energy
Industry

Globally, the Climate change is becoming the hottest topic across many countries, especially
involves environmental pollution in China. According to the Energy Information Administration
(EIA), China is the second largest polluted country in the World, just after USA. The Sulfur
Dioxide (SO2) level in many Chinese cities is two to five times higher than the world health
organisation standards. One of the major reasons behind China’s environmental pollution is
the irresponsible of business activities.

This paper seeks to analyse Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Chinese Energy
industry. It does so by looking three schools of thought which represent in the current
literature (Chun, 2005). It will take a multiple stakeholder approach to corporate reputation,
defined as various stakeholders perception, (i.e. managers, employees and policy makers)
feelings and evaluation of a company based on their direct and indirect experience with the
company (Davies, Chun, daSilva, & Roper, 2003; Fombrun, 1996). Further, I will compare the
difference of Energy Company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance between
urban and rural areas. The aim of this study is to contribute a better understanding of the
CSR attitudes in the current Chinese Energy Industry; to identify indicators for good CSR
practice and positive reputation of Chinese energy firms perceived by their leaders,
employees, residence and policy makers.

Recently, many studies have indicated that social and environmental responsibility of
enterprises has begun to receive greater attention from corporate management (Li and Li,
2005; Lu, 1997; Lu and Chiu, 2003; Wu, 1999). Many Chinese firms have developed formal
codes of ethics and standards of proper behaviour (Wu, 1999). According to Lu and Chiu
(2003), corporate citizenship behaviour of enterprise in Shanghai has shown a strong
inclination of philanthropic responsibility towards public welfare activities. However, the
Chinese firm’s CSR practice is still regarded as poor by global standards (Ho, 2001).
Environmental protection in China has received little support from business activities. The
overall business environment is not receptive to the idea of having ethical conduct. The weak
management and accounting system make it too easy for managers to engage in unethical
and even criminal behaviours in Chinese companies (Chen and Chen 2005). Branzei, al.,
(2000) claimed that if firm’s leader has personal value of eco-sustainability, and they also
perceive their firm to be highly committed to the environment, they favour proactive
environmental strategies and have increased level of environmental innovation activity. The
existing studies on CSR practice in China tend to focus on major cities rather than rural areas.
It would be interesting to see the differences in the perception of managers, employees,
residents, and policy makers on the issues of CSR practice in rural areas (Goodall and
Warner, 1997).

To carry out the research, I will use a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. The
proposed design is sending out 10 questionnaires each to 200 Chinese energy companies in
Shanxi Province. Within the 10 questionnaires, 5 questionnaires should be answered by top
level managers, and the rest should be answered by employees. Also, 200 questionnaires will
distribute to local residence and 10 interviews will be hold with local government officials who
are involved in environmental policy and monitoring. The reason to choose Shanxi Province is
that firstly, it has the largest number of energy factories. Secondly, the environment has been
damaged significantly and thirdly, the employee’s safeties are weak.