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Research Ethics Policy

PURPOSE

This policy details principles and processes to ensure ethical research is conducted at Global Leadership Institute (GLI) by academic staff, Higher Degree Research (HDR) students, and postgraduate capstone students.

SCOPE

All academic staff, HDR students, and postgraduate capstone students.

PRINCIPLES

All research undertaken at GLI complies with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

GLI ensures that:

  • human research is justified by its potential benefits to knowledge and understanding, to improved individual and community wellbeing, and by its alignment to the Code of Conduct Policy;
  • physical, psychological, social, economic, and/or legal risks for participants is minimised, including potential harm or discomfort;
  • rights, dignity, health, safety, privacy, confidentiality, and welfare of participants are respected;
  • participants are informed of the potential risks and benefits, and make their own decisions about involvement;
  • human research with minors is conducted with the approval of the participants and their guardians;
  • human research respects the beliefs, perceptions, customs, and culture of others, including adherence to the First Nations Peoples Policy;
  • all academic staff and students undertaking research complete research ethics training.

HUMAN ETHICS RESEARCH COMMITTEE

GLI has a Memorandum of Understanding with an external, registered Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Christian Research Association, for all research at GLI deemed as low or high risk. The body exists to help students and staff undertake human research ethically and will not comment on the methods or content of the research where that has no bearing on the ethics of the research.

All human research proposals are submitted to the external HREC to assess foreseeable levels of physical, psychological, social, economic or legal harm or discomfort. This includes, but is not limited to research methods, such as:

  • surveys, interviews, or observations;
  • medical or psychological testing;
  • accessing personal documents, data, biological specimens, or tissue.

Ethical misconduct can be reported by staff to HREC which, upon investigation, may withdraw its approval for a project. Illegal activities in the context of research must be reported to the police.

Where projects have been approved by HREC, researchers must inform HREC of any major change to their research which may impact on ethical approval.

RESEARCH RISK CATEGORIES

GLI’s human research risk categories include:

  • Negligible risk (no ethics approval required): no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort to participants or others. This includes the use of existing data or records with only non-identifiable data about human beings, and research internal to an organisation and only used within the organisation. Such research is exempt from ethical review.
  • Low risk (requires approval by an external authorised body): foreseeable risk is inconvenience or discomfort to participants or others. Participants are healthy adults (over 18 years old) who are:
    • members of an Australian community, association, club, or institute of higher education;
    • employees of an organisation who are not in an unequal power relationship with the researcher;
    • invited to participate through a public advertisement or because they have a public position, which does not violate privacy legislation or compromise the voluntary choice of the participant;
    • in non-identifiable data such as anonymous questionnaires or interviews;
    • within research of non-sensitive issues unlikely to cause distress;
    • not First Nations Peoples, people living outside of Australia, or people in marginalised communities;
  • High risk (requires approval by an external authorised body): all human research that is not negligible or low risk.

Overview of research risk categories*

1. Negligible Risk 2. Lower Risk 3. Higher Risk
(i) Inconvenience (minimal risk) (ii) Discomfort (low risk)
e.g. database research; internal organisational reviews e.g. time to participate; travel time; cost to participate e.g. mild unease about participating in an interview e.g. possible anxiety or distress arising in or from an interview
Exempted from the external, authorised ethics committee Ethics application must be submitted but may be expedited by Human Research Ethics Committee Chair Ethics approval application must be submitted to the external Human Research Ethics Committee

*Examples shown are indicative and illustrative only

PROCEDURES

[HDR EXAMINATION FLOW CHART]

APPROVAL PROCEDURE OF HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS APPROVAL

  1. For any proposed human research conducted at the Institute, the Human Research Ethics Application Form is submitted to the Chair of the HREC before research may commence.
  2. The HREC may request a meeting with the HDR student and their supervisors, so that questions can be resolved.
  3. Any complaints by participants regarding the ethics of the research should be addressed to the Chair of the HREC. That committee will consider and respond to the complaint.
  4. Complaints by researchers in relation to ethics approval may be addressed to the Vice President Academic and will abide by the Student Grievance and Appeals Policy.
  5. Ethical misconduct can be reported by staff to the external HREC which, upon investigation, may withdraw its approval for a project. Illegal activities in the context of research must be reported to the police.
  6. Where projects have been approved by the external HREC, researchers must inform the committee of any major change to the research which may impact on ethical approval.
  7. Information and/or evidence regarding alleged academic or research misconduct or in the publication of findings must be reported according to the Academic Integrity Policy.

Ethical misconduct can be reported by staff to Christian Research Association which, upon investigation, may withdraw its approval for a project. Illegal activities in the context of research must be reported to the police.

Where projects have been approved, researchers must inform the Association of any major change to their research which may impact on ethical approval.

Complaints by participants in a research project should be addressed to: secretary_HREC@cra.org.au

Complaints by HDR students and postgraduate research students will abide by the Student Grievance and Appeals Policy. Any grievance by GLI academic staff will follow the Staff Grievance Policy.

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Associate Professor Jason Hartley

Jason Hartley is lecturer in criminology at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. He is a former police officer with 23 years of experience, and has trained personnel for deployment in Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan. Jason specializes in, and has published on engagement with Muslim communities, Indigenous Polynesian approaches to rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, and Asian Organised Crime. Jason also completed a community internship in Hebron on the West Bank.

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Professor Grant Pitman

Professor Grant Pitman is the president of the Global Leadership Institute. He has held senior leadership roles in government such as Chief Superintendent of Police and Director of Strategic Planning ICT in the Queensland Police Service;

  • Varied list of contributions to law enforcement, including disaster management, auditing and finance, organizational reform, education and human resources, and policy development
  • National, state, and regional levels of professional service, including the Ipswich Economic Forum, the Brisbane Airport Emergency Planning Committee, the National Emergency Communications Working Group, the National Police Drug and Alcohol Task Force, and the Police Education Advisory Council.

He has a Ph.D. and Master of Administration from Griffith University. He is a well-versed researcher and has published numerous articles and journals.

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Professor Kevin Tickle

Professor Kevin Tickle has extensive experience in Executive Management roles in the tertiary education sector, both public and private, over the last two decades and has been a consultant to Higher Education providers in Australia and overseas. His primary areas of interest are Leadership, Management, Information Technology, Mathematics and Statistics with expertise in the areas of probability modelling; decision support, and data analytics. He is currently a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, a member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, the Australian Computer Society and an Emeritus Professor at CQUniversity.

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Mr Des Lacy OAM

Des serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Chapter of FBI National Academy Associates, after completing 40 years in the Queensland Police Service. During his distinguished career, Des was District Officer (A/Chief Superintendent) in Charge of the Gold Coast Police District, Police Commander for the Gold Coast Indy, Super V8s, Gold Coast Marathon, and Schoolies, as well as National Rugby League and Australian Foot League events in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Des oversaw development and implementation of the Integrated Justice Information Systems, Integrated Traffic Policing Program, and Integrated Tasking and Analysis System. He served as Director of the Strategic Services Branch and Information and Communications Technology Command, as well as Chair of the District Disaster Management Group and Security Operations Coordinator for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 

Des has been a member of Rotary International for 30 years, representing Rotary International in the United States and the Middle East. For his work in the Gold Coast Community Des was awarded Citizen of the Year at the 2013 Gold Coast Australia Day celebrations. Des also was one of the founding Directors for the Oxenford and Coomera Community Youth Centre that provides much needed social services to the Northern Gold Coast Community. For the past 15 years, he has also been the Chair of this not-for-profit establishment. It. For his work promoting International Law Enforcement Des was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2017.

Qualifications

Graduate Diploma of Management

Graduate Certificate Business Management 

Bachelor of Business

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Dr Shantanu Banerjee

Dr Shantanu Banerjee is senior lecturer at Leaders Institute. With extensive experience in management, leadership, and administration across a range of contexts in India and Australia, Dr Banerjee is also currently an Industry Fellow at the University of Queensland Business School. His research focuses on socio-cultural-political contexts, particularly in the field of agribusiness and international business. His research has highlighted variations in the theme of international competitiveness by emphasising non-economic and non-market variables and on how multinational enterprises subsidiaries can pursue legitimacy pursuing non-market strategies. 

Dr Banerjee has presented his research work at esteemed international conferences such as ANZIBA and EIA and has published in scholarly journals including International Business Review and Management International Review. He graduated from the Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi (India) and the University of Queensland Business School. He has been an academic staff member at the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology, lecturing in undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Dr Banerjee has over 15 years of extensive and varied experience as an International Business Manager dealing and negotiating with overseas clients based in the United States of America, China, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, and Germany. He is currently employed with a Federal agency of the Australian Treasury. 

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Queensland, 2012

Master of Research, Queensland University of Technology, 2005

Master of Business, Queensland University of Technology, 2003

Postgraduate Diploma in International Trade, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, 1986

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, 1985

 

Communities of Practice

  • Editorial Board, Academy of International Business
  • Editorial Board, European Academy of Management
  • Editorial Board, Leadership & Management Studies in Sub-Sahara Africa Conference
  • Editorial Board, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
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Associate Professor Ben Arachi

BIOGRAPHY

Associate Professor Ben Arachi has four decades (1977-2023) of experience in higher education leadership and teaching. During his 15 years as Unit Coordinator at Central Queensland University, he received two Excellence in Teaching Awards and was nominated for the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Learning and Teaching and the Australian Awards for University Teaching. His online learning study was published in Economics for Today (Cengage 2022).

Previously, Associate Professor Arachi  served as Vice Principal, Head of the Department of Extension and Research, and Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal at Arul Anandar College, India (1992-1997). He was then Research Coordinator and Course Coordinator (1999-2008), as well as Chair of the Division of Economics (2000-2005) at HELP University, Malaysia. This included senior involvement in the application to become a University College and then a full University.

Associate Professor Arachi also has over 20 years of experience as a higher degree research supervisor, moderator, and examiner for doctoral degrees. In his five years as a Coordinator of All India Christian Higher Education, he organised numerous state-level seminars and workshops for academics in higher education in India. He has published four monographs, many research papers and articles while editing the Research AAC Journal of Economics. He has reviewed many higher education textbooks.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Madursi Kamaraj University, India, 1989

  • Master of Arts, University of Madras, 1975 (Gold Medalist)

  • Bachelor of Arts, Madursi Kamaraj University, India, 1973 (University Rank and Merit Scholarship)

  • Diploma in Applied Economics, Madursi Kamaraj University, India, 1980

ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP

  • Member, Academic Board, 2023-current

  • Chair, Examiners Committe, 2023-current

  • Member, Course Advisory Committee, 2022-current

AWARDS

  • Central Queensland University Student Voice Commendation. The 2021 program includes unit evaluation data from term 3, 2020 and terms 1 and 2, 2021.

  • Central Queensland University  Student Voice Commendation. The 2020 program includes unit evaluation data from term 3, 2019 and terms 1 and 2, 2020.

  • Central Queensland University Central Queensland University Platinum certificate Top rated Unit in Term 2, 2019

  • Central Queensland University Gold certificate Highly rated Unit in Term 2,2019 (ACCT20070)

  • Gold certificate Highly rated Unit in Term 2,2019 from CQU(ECON11026)

  • Charles Sturt University Excellence in Teaching Award (ECO511)

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Dr Bandula Nambukara-Gamage

Dr Bandula Nambukara-Gamage is a Senior Lecturer of Accounting and Finance at James Cook University, Brisbane campus. He currently teaches Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Accounting, Master of Professional Accounting, and Master of Business Administration students based on the Brisbane campus. Dr Nambukara-Gamage has previously lectured at Central Queensland University, Federation University, and Charles Darwin University.

QUALIFICATIONS

Doctor of Philosophy, University of New England, 2013

Master of Commerce

Licentiate Certificate (recognised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia)

Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours)

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Professor Rod St Hill

Professor Rodney St Hill is the former President of Leaders Institute (2018-2020) and serves as Senior Pastor (2016-current) at IgniteLife Church Gold Coast, where he heads IgniteLife Business, an outreach to Christians in business. He is a leader in the global Business As Mission movement. He also consults on governance and executive management in higher education and business, with a particular special interest in Christian education institutions and businesses.

Previously, Professor St Hill was a long-term senior leader and Vice President Academic of Christian Heritage College, Brisbane. With the input of his colleagues and many others in his network, he developed business curriculum that embeds the ‘5 P missional business’ model – a model of production, people, planet, and profit. He was also Dean of Students, among other roles, at University of Southern Queensland (1993-2009).

QUALIFICATIONS

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Cantebury, 1989

Bachelor of Commerce (Hons 1), University of Newcastle, 1979

EXTERNAL EXPERT REVIEWER

External Member, various course assessment panels in business, management and leadership at Alphacrucis College, Australian College of Divinity, and Avondale University College, 2014 to 2020

Member: Australian Institute of Company Directors

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

Member: Economic Society of Australia

External Expert, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), 2019-current

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Ps Duane Van Vuuren

Ps Duane Van Vuuren has served as Brisbane Campus Director, Postgraduate Leadership Studies Director, Unit Coordinator, and Lecturer at Alphacrucis University College. He also served as Executive Pastor at several churches across Australia.

Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy in Leaders – candidate
Master of Arts
Master of Leadership
Graduate Certificate of Leadership

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Geoff Sheldon

Associate Professor Geoff Sheldon

Associate Professor Geoff Sheldon is a part-time Doctoral and Masters theses examiner for University of Southern Queensland and has been a visiting professor and guest lecturer at Bond University. He is the holder of a Doctorate of Policing and Security and a Master of Leadership, together with five other post and under-graduate qualifications. His distinguished Queensland policing career saw him serve across the entire state for just over 42 years (1982-2023), most recently in the Gold Coast and Cairns Districts at the level of Superintendent. He serves on multiple boards and charity committees.

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Research Ethics Policy

PURPOSE

This policy details principles and processes to ensure ethical research is conducted at Global Leadership Institute (GLI) by academic staff, Higher Degree Research (HDR) students, and postgraduate capstone students.

SCOPE

All academic staff, HDR students, and postgraduate capstone students.

PRINCIPLES

All research undertaken at GLI complies with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

GLI ensures that:

  • human research is justified by its potential benefits to knowledge and understanding, to improved individual and community wellbeing, and by its alignment to the Code of Conduct Policy;
  • physical, psychological, social, economic, and/or legal risks for participants is minimised, including potential harm or discomfort;
  • rights, dignity, health, safety, privacy, confidentiality, and welfare of participants are respected;
  • participants are informed of the potential risks and benefits, and make their own decisions about involvement;
  • human research with minors is conducted with the approval of the participants and their guardians;
  • human research respects the beliefs, perceptions, customs, and culture of others, including adherence to the First Nations Peoples Policy;
  • all academic staff and students undertaking research complete research ethics training.

HUMAN ETHICS RESEARCH COMMITTEE

GLI has a Memorandum of Understanding with an external, registered Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Christian Research Association, for all research at GLI deemed as low or high risk. The body exists to help students and staff undertake human research ethically and will not comment on the methods or content of the research where that has no bearing on the ethics of the research.

All human research proposals are submitted to the external HREC to assess foreseeable levels of physical, psychological, social, economic or legal harm or discomfort. This includes, but is not limited to research methods, such as:

  • surveys, interviews, or observations;
  • medical or psychological testing;
  • accessing personal documents, data, biological specimens, or tissue.

Ethical misconduct can be reported by staff to HREC which, upon investigation, may withdraw its approval for a project. Illegal activities in the context of research must be reported to the police.

Where projects have been approved by HREC, researchers must inform HREC of any major change to their research which may impact on ethical approval.

RESEARCH RISK CATEGORIES

GLI’s human research risk categories include:

  • Negligible risk (no ethics approval required): no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort to participants or others. This includes the use of existing data or records with only non-identifiable data about human beings, and research internal to an organisation and only used within the organisation. Such research is exempt from ethical review.
  • Low risk (requires approval by an external authorised body): foreseeable risk is inconvenience or discomfort to participants or others. Participants are healthy adults (over 18 years old) who are:
    • members of an Australian community, association, club, or institute of higher education;
    • employees of an organisation who are not in an unequal power relationship with the researcher;
    • invited to participate through a public advertisement or because they have a public position, which does not violate privacy legislation or compromise the voluntary choice of the participant;
    • in non-identifiable data such as anonymous questionnaires or interviews;
    • within research of non-sensitive issues unlikely to cause distress;
    • not First Nations Peoples, people living outside of Australia, or people in marginalised communities;
  • High risk (requires approval by an external authorised body): all human research that is not negligible or low risk.

Overview of research risk categories*

1. Negligible Risk 2. Lower Risk 3. Higher Risk
(i) Inconvenience (minimal risk) (ii) Discomfort (low risk)
e.g. database research; internal organisational reviews e.g. time to participate; travel time; cost to participate e.g. mild unease about participating in an interview e.g. possible anxiety or distress arising in or from an interview
Exempted from the external, authorised ethics committee Ethics application must be submitted but may be expedited by Human Research Ethics Committee Chair Ethics approval application must be submitted to the external Human Research Ethics Committee

*Examples shown are indicative and illustrative only

PROCEDURES

[HDR EXAMINATION FLOW CHART]

APPROVAL PROCEDURE OF HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS APPROVAL

  1. For any proposed human research conducted at the Institute, the Human Research Ethics Application Form is submitted to the Chair of the HREC before research may commence.
  2. The HREC may request a meeting with the HDR student and their supervisors, so that questions can be resolved.
  3. Any complaints by participants regarding the ethics of the research should be addressed to the Chair of the HREC. That committee will consider and respond to the complaint.
  4. Complaints by researchers in relation to ethics approval may be addressed to the Vice President Academic and will abide by the Student Grievance and Appeals Policy.
  5. Ethical misconduct can be reported by staff to the external HREC which, upon investigation, may withdraw its approval for a project. Illegal activities in the context of research must be reported to the police.
  6. Where projects have been approved by the external HREC, researchers must inform the committee of any major change to the research which may impact on ethical approval.
  7. Information and/or evidence regarding alleged academic or research misconduct or in the publication of findings must be reported according to the Academic Integrity Policy.

Ethical misconduct can be reported by staff to Christian Research Association which, upon investigation, may withdraw its approval for a project. Illegal activities in the context of research must be reported to the police.

Where projects have been approved, researchers must inform the Association of any major change to their research which may impact on ethical approval.

Complaints by participants in a research project should be addressed to: secretary_HREC@cra.org.au

Complaints by HDR students and postgraduate research students will abide by the Student Grievance and Appeals Policy. Any grievance by GLI academic staff will follow the Staff Grievance Policy.