This paper reports findings from a study of user behaviours and intentions towards online news and information in Australia, undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries Faculty and the Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre. It has used a literature review, online survey, focus groups and interviews to explore attitudes and behaviours towards online...

The supply of formal childcare has expanded in many developed countries. There is ambiguity, however, in the theory that the entry of care providers increases consumers’ surplus and the welfare of households in a market with differentiated services, such as childcare. This study empirically investigates how perceived search costs and parental life satisfaction change when...

This policy brief assesses the advantages and disadvantages of indirect taxes over direct taxes. The appropriate choice for individual countries depends on circumstances, but particularly on views about the relative importance of growth and inequality as well as the ability to offset the effects of inequality through other measures without harming growth.

This paper suggests that the forgotten domain of the complex and vigorous debates about the future of higher speed broadband in Australia is the experience and expectations of users and consumers with broadband. Research to date about such user experiences, especially in Australia, has essentially concentrated on Internet services and mainly with narrowband users. Yet...

This paper discusses the initial development of a survey instrument designed to investigate the range of factors affecting broadband adoption in Australia. The development of these constructs builds on existing technology adoption models, innovation diffusion theory and psychology studies related to consumer choice and qualitative research by the author. The survey instrument is designed to...