• Selected
• Entire List

Abstract:
This Australian study seeks to better understand the disparity between the positive attitudes towards Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and the level of investment in SRI, by examining both the attitudes to SRI and the investment choices that are made. It is hypothesised that those who are more committed to principles of environmental sustainability are more likely to invest in SRI. To test this, 318 people from two large Queensland organisations are surveyed in relation to their investment attitudes and preferences. We find that there are significant differences in investment attitudes with environmentalists placing more importance on SRI investment criteria. However, there was no significant difference between environmentalists and non-environmentalists in terms of utility scores from an investment selection experiment with the environmentalists placing higher importance on financial performance criteria than SRI criteria, making choices similar to those with the lowest level of environmental activism. Furthermore, the observed lack of congruency between attitudes and choices in relation to environmental criteria may have implications for the growth of SRI funds.

Abstract:
Success in a modern world requires more than just technical skills, with employers requiring graduates with arange of skills which can be critical for job performance and career advancement (Cohen, 1999; Tucker & McCarthy, 2001). An important graduate attribute is good communication skills (Usoff & Feldmann, 1998), with self confidence a key in its development (Reinsch & Shelby, 1996). The literature also demonstrates that the use of professionals and industry representatives can enhance students’ confidence and their self-belief (Subramaniam & Freudenberg, 2007). It is on the basis of these findings that a full day Student-Industry Conference involving first to third year students in a number of related undergraduate financial planning courses was developed. The conference provided opportunities for these students to come together and present research papers that they had worked on in their courses. These student presentations were attended by not only other students, but also industry representatives who were involved in the assessment process.

Furthermore, students had the opportunity to listen to a number of relevant industry speakers on current topics and research in the field. This also included discussions about the overall direction of the industry and the graduate recruitment process. Through this and other mechanisms, the Student-Industry Conference was designed to allow for the improvement of students’ selfefficacy through mastery, modelling and verbal persuasion. This paper details the empirical evidence as to whether students’ participation in this Student-Industry Conference improved their self-efficacy, particularly in terms of their communication skills. Data from a questionnaire of participating students indicates that the students perceived greater self-efficacy as a result of this initiative. With such improved self-efficacy students may be able to enhance their careers in the future.

self-efficacy, student conference, university teaching