The Transition from Graduation to Work

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Work, Organization, and Employment
Series Editors: Tony Dundon · Adrian Wilkinson

Subas Dhakal
Verma Prikshat
Alan Nankervis
John Burgess Editors

The Transition
from Graduation
to Work
Challenges and Strategies in the
Twenty-First Century Asia Pacific
and Beyond
Work, Organization, and Employment

Series editors
Tony Dundon, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Adrian Wilkinson, Business School, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
The series publishes high-quality research in the related subject areas of work, employment
relations, organizational studies and analysis, and human resource management. The series takes
an overarching pluralist approach, debating and discussing topics via related theoretical lenses
including political economy, ethics, and systems of governance.
A key focus of the series is how the imperatives for efficiency, quality and high performance
can be configured so that equality, inclusion, good pay, dignity, well-being and social justice are
also achieved in increasingly globalised work regimes.
The series investigates the connections between the world of work and the political economy
and public policy that shape regulations, organizational and business environments, work
experiences, and well-being within a new globalised model of consumerism.

Editorial Board

Maike Andresen, University of Bamberg, Germany

Maurizio Atzeni, Centre for Labour Relations, CEIL/CONICET, Argentina
Donna Baines, University of Sydney, Australia
Debashish Bhattacherjee, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, India
Fang Lee Cooke, Monash University, Australia
Ian Cunningham, University of Strathclyde, UK
Jenny Chan, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and SACOM, Hong Kong
Julie Cogin, University of New South Wales, Australia
Christian de Cock, University of Essex, UK
Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia
Gail Hebson, Manchester Business School, UK
Donald Hislop, Loughborough University, UK
Wei Huang, Renmin University of China
Douglas Kruse, Rutgers University, USA
John Logan, San Francisco State University, USA
David Lewin, UCLA Anderson School of Management, USA
Paula McDonald, QUT, Australia
Miguel Martinez-Lucio, Manchester Business School, UK
Pun Ngai, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Werner Nienhueser, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Dionne Pohler, University of Toronto, Canada
Ed Snape, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Scott Snell, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, USA
Lucy Taksa, Macquarie University, Australia
Andrew Timming, University of Western Australia, Australia
Melissa Tyler, University of Essex, UK
Diane van den Broek, University of Sydney, Australia
Geoff Wood, University of Essex, UK
Stefan Zagelmeyer, Manchester Business School, UK

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14359

Subas Dhakal Verma Prikshat
•

Alan Nankervis John Burgess

•

Editors

The Transition
from Graduation to Work
Challenges and Strategies in the Twenty-First
Century Asia Pacific and Beyond

123
Editors
Subas Dhakal Alan Nankervis
School of Management School of Management
Curtin University RMIT University
Perth, WA, Australia Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Verma Prikshat John Burgess

Australian Institute of Business School of Management
Adelaide, SA, Australia RMIT University
Melbourne, VIC, Australia

ISSN 2520-8837 ISSN 2520-8845 (electronic)

Work, Organization, and Employment
ISBN 978-981-13-0973-1 ISBN 978-981-13-0974-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0974-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018945452

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
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the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
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authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
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Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Preface

A smooth transitioning from education to employment remains a major labour

market challenge globally. Investing in education and completing accredited pro-
grammes that satisfy job entry criteria is a standard pathway towards employment,
income generation, family formation and career development. However, for many,
the transition to work is not direct, not smooth and not a short-term process.
Education may provide certain skills and certification, but it does not provide work
experience or those skills (especially soft skills) that complement formal qualifi-
cations or organisational or industry knowledge that may be a pre-requisite for job
entry. The evidence suggests long delays between completing education and
obtaining a full-time and regular job in the career that matches the formal quali-
fications, and a transitional process characterised by underemployment including
insecure and irregular employment, often in an industry or an occupation outside
of the ones in which formal qualifications were obtained. This book explores the
transitional challenges from graduation to employment in the Asia (South and
South East) and Pacific context. This book builds upon prior research on graduate
work-readiness (GWR) and brings in the views and suggestions of stakeholders as
to how to address GWR. Specifically, the purpose is to identify and evaluate
innovative programmes that can inform institutional and public policy responses to
GWR challenges. The conclusion of the book draws on comparative analysis of
GWR across the region and considers a number of potential ways in which GWR
can be strengthened.
• Subas Dhakal is a Lecturer at Curtin Business School in Curtin University,
Perth, Australia. He is a management academic with expertise in the theory and
practice of sustainable development.
• Verma Prikshat is a Lecturer in Management at the Australian Institute of
Business, Adelaide, Australia, and his major areas of research interest are in
human resource competencies and graduate work-readiness challenges in the
Asia Pacific region.

v
vi Preface

• Alan Nankervis is an Adjunct Professor of HRM at RMIT University, Australia.

His research interests include comparative Asian HRM/management, HRM and
organisational effectiveness, artificial intelligence and the future of work in the
Asia Pacific.
• John Burgess is Professor of Management at RMIT University, Melbourne,
Australia. His research interests include HRM practices of multinational enter-
prises, the relationship between working time and health and work in care
sectors.

Perth, Australia Subas Dhakal

Adelaide, Australia Verma Prikshat
Melbourne, Australia Alan Nankervis
Melbourne, Australia John Burgess
Contents

Part I The Issues and the Challenges

1 An Introduction to the Transition from Graduation to Work:
Challenges and Strategies in the Asia Pacific and Beyond . . . . . . . 3
Subas Dhakal, Verma Prikshat, Alan Nankervis and John Burgess
2 Conceptualising Graduate Work-Readiness: Theories, Concepts
and Implications for Practice and Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Verma Prikshat, Alan Nankervis, John Burgess and Subas Dhakal
3 Mapping Stakeholders of Graduate Work-Readiness (GWR) . . . . . 31
Alan Nankervis, Verma Prikshat and Subas Dhakal
4 European, American and Japanese Perspectives
on Work-Readiness: Implications for the Asia-Pacific Region . . . . . 43
Jonathan Winterton

Part II Country Studies

5 The Future of Work in Australia: Preparing Graduates
for Changing Work Patterns that Require New Skill Sets . . . . . . . 65
Barbara Mumme and Roslyn Cameron
6 Work-Readiness of Indian Graduates: A Multi-stakeholder
Approach to Assess Competence Deficits and Causes, and
Possible Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Sanjeev Kumar, Parth Patel and Verma Prikshat
7 Graduate Work-Readiness Challenges in Indonesia—Findings
from a Multiple Stakeholder Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Soegeng Priyono and Alan Nankervis
8 Graduate Work-Readiness in Malaysia: Challenges, Skills
and Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Noorziah Mohd Salleh, Jabil Mapjabil and Rafeah Legino

vii
viii Contents

9 Graduate Work-Readiness Challenges in Mauritius . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Sarita Hardin-Ramanan, Loga Ballasoupramanien, Shafiiq Gopee,
Vikash Rowtho and Odylle Charoux
10 The Transition from Graduation to Work: Challenges and
Strategies in Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Peter Waring, Christopher Vas and Azad Singh Bali
11 Graduate Work-Readiness in Taiwan: Stakeholder Perspectives
and Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Min-Wen Sophie Chang and Julia Connell
12 Graduate Work-Readiness in Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Surapit Promsit
13 Enhancing Graduate Work-Readiness in Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Nguyen Danh Nguyen, Nguyen Ba Ngoc and Alan Montague

Part III Comparative Analysis and Conclusion

14 Challenges and Strategies of Transition from Graduation
to Work in the Post-2020 Asia Pacific and Beyond:
A Comparative Analysis of Nine Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Subas Dhakal, Alan Nankervis, John Burgess and Verma Prikshat
15 Conclusion: The Future for Transition from Graduation
to Work in the Asia Pacific and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Subas Dhakal, Verma Prikshat, John Burgess and Alan Nankervis
Editors and Contributors

About the Editors

Subas Dhakal is a Lecturer at Curtin Business School, Curtin University. He is a

management academic with expertise in the theory and practice of sustainable
development. Prior to Curtin appointment, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow under the
federally funded Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) programme implemented
in partnership between Southern Cross University and University of Queensland.
He has extensive research experiences/publications in the areas of corporate social
responsibility and stakeholder engagement, green jobs and employability, interna-
tional development and disasters management, and social entrepreneurship and
community-based tourism in the Asia Pacific and South Asian regions.
Verma Prikshat Lecturer, Australia Institute of Business, Adelaide. He has more
than 17 years of academic experience, including teaching, research and programme
management and coordination at tertiary level, in Australian and Indian universities.
He has taught a variety of management courses (for example, Management, Human
Resource Management, Organisation Change and Management, Organisation
Behaviour, Leadership, Managing Change and Leadership and Employment
Relations) at three Australian universities (namely, Central Queensland University
—Melbourne Campus and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education,
Northern Territory). He has presented his research findings in numerous interna-
tional conferences, and his major areas of research interest are in human resource
competencies and graduate work-readiness challenges in the Asia Pacific region.
Alan Nankervis is an Adjunct Professor of HRM at RMIT University. He was
formerly the Research Director in the School of Management at Curtin University,
the Director of the Graduate School of Management at Western Sydney University
and the Head of HRM at RMIT. He is also the Chair of the Australian HR
Institute’s national programme accreditation committee. He has more than 150
publications, including books, book chapters, journal articles and international
conference presentations. His research interests include comparative Asian

ix
x Editors and Contributors

HRM/management, HRM and organisational effectiveness, artificial intelligence

and the future of work in the Asia Pacific.
John Burgess is Professor of Management at RMIT University, Melbourne,
Australia. He held previous professorial appointments at the University of
Newcastle and Curtin University. His research interests include HRM practices of
multinational enterprises, the relationship between working time and health, tran-
sitory labour markets, contingent/insecure employment arrangements and work in
the care sectors.

Contributors

Azad Singh Bali Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia

Loga Ballasoupramanien Curtin Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius
John Burgess RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Roslyn Cameron Australian Institute of Business, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Min-Wen Sophie Chang International College, Providence University, Taichung,
Taiwan
Odylle Charoux Curtin Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius
Julia Connell University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
Subas Dhakal Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, Australia
Shafiiq Gopee Curtin Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius
Sarita Hardin-Ramanan Curtin Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius
Sanjeev Kumar Graphic Era University, Dehradun, India
Rafeah Legino Faculty of Art and Design, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah
Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Jabil Mapjabil Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia
Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Noorziah Mohd Salleh Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Alan Montague RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Barbara Mumme University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
Alan Nankervis RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; Australian Institute of
Business, Adelaide, Australia
Nguyen Ba Ngoc Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs, Hanoi, Vietnam
Editors and Contributors xi

Nguyen Danh Nguyen Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi,

Vietnam
Parth Patel Australian Institute of Business, Adelaide, Australia
Verma Prikshat Australian Institute of Business, Adelaide, Australia
Soegeng Priyono DevOne Consulting, Jakarta, Indonesia
Surapit Promsit Thammasat Business School, Bangkok, Thailand
Vikash Rowtho Curtin Mauritius, Moka, Mauritius
Christopher Vas Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia
Peter Waring Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia
Jonathan Winterton Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
 Part I
The Issues and the Challenges
Chapter 1
An Introduction to the Transition
from Graduation to Work: Challenges
and Strategies in the Asia Pacific
and Beyond

Subas Dhakal, Verma Prikshat, Alan Nankervis and John Burgess

Abstract The concept and the importance of Graduate Work-Readiness (GWR) in

the region is outlined. The objectives and structure of the book are discussed followed
by the mapping of the countries to be studied, the analysis undertaken in each of the
countries and the structure of the book. The chapter sets out the contribution of the
book and includes a list of limitations associated with the approach taken.

Keywords Asia Pacific Education policy Graduate work-readiness



Higher education Stakeholders Vocational education

1.1 Introduction

Youth employment is now a top policy priority in most countries across all regions,
and at the international level is being translated into the development of a global
strategy for youth employment and embedded into the 2030 development agenda.
With a growing multitude of country-level initiatives involving many actors and
institutions from the public and private sectors, focus now turns to forging part-
nerships for policy coherence and effective coordination on youth employment
(ILO 2015: 4).

S. Dhakal
Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
e-mail: Subas.dhakal@curtin.edu.au
V. Prikshat
Australian Institute of Business, Adelaide, Australia
e-mail: vermaprikshat@gmail.com
A. Nankervis
J. Burgess (&)
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
e-mail: John.burgess@rmit.edu.au
A. Nankervis
e-mail: alan.nankervis@rmit.edu.au

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 3

S. Dhakal et al. (eds.), The Transition from Graduation to Work, Work,
Organization, and Employment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0974-8_1
4 S. Dhakal et al.

A smooth transitioning from education to employment remains a major labour

market challenge globally. Investing in education and completing accredited pro-
grammes that satisfy job entry criteria is a standard pathway towards employment,
income generation, family formation and career development. However, for many,
the transition is not direct, not smooth and not a short-term process. Education may
provide certain skills and certification, but it does not provide work experience, nor
those skills (especially soft skills) that complement formal qualifications or
organisational or industry knowledge that may be a prerequisite for job entry. The
problem is that education and the successful completion of trade and university
programmes are not sufficient by itself to provide access to an entry position in a
chosen career. Instead, the evidence suggests long delays between completing
education and obtaining a full-time and regular job in the career that matches the
formal qualifications, and a transitional process characterised by underemployment
including insecure and irregular employment, often in an industry or an occupation
outside of the ones in which formal qualifications were obtained.
The overall challenge of youth unemployment and underemployment has been
highlighted by the ILO (2013, 2016). It is not a new phenomenon, but it persists
despite increased investment in the education of youth and population ageing in
many countries that potentially opens up opportunities for young people to enter the
workforce (Dhakal et al. 2018). Youth employment opportunities should be
enhanced by the persistent claims of global skill shortages and by they being a
generation which is familiar with and skilled in the use of digital technology
(Dhakal et al. 2018). Despite these apparent advantages, youth unemployment rates
are on average double national unemployment rates and are around 13% globally
(ILO 2016), and despite the large investments in education globally, the youth
unemployment and transition to employment problem persist globally (ILO 2016).
One issue that has attracted attention is the idea of a mismatch between the skills of
graduates and those skills required for job entry positions. This perceived mismatch
has brought attention towards the content, structure, teaching and assessment of
tertiary courses within vocational education and training (VET) institutions and
universities (Tran 2015). It appears that instructional and course designs are not
aligned with the skill needs of industry, and hence institutions need to assess and
improve ‘graduate employability’ (Burgess et al. 2018). Challenges associated with
the employability of vocational education (VE) and higher education
(HE) graduates are identified by governments, industry and educational institutions
across the Asia Pacific region as significant constraints on future economic
development (Burgess et al. 2018). What exactly is the graduate employability
problem? Is it an information and communication problem? Are educational intu-
itions not providing the skill sets that are in demand? Are employers not signalling
to education providers what their skill requirements are? It may be an information
shortage and asymmetry; it could be a failure of public policy in ensuring that there
is matching of graduates with labour market demand, and that there are pathways
from graduation to employment.
There are several terms that are used interchangeable to represent the transitional
challenges from graduate to employment; these include ‘graduate work-readiness’,
1 An Introduction to the Transition from … 5

‘job readiness’ and ‘graduate employability’. A discussion of the terminology can

be found in (Burgess et al. 2018). The concept suggests that beyond formal cre-
dentials, such as degrees, that graduates require attributes that improve their ability
to access employment and to readily transit to employment in the field in which
they have formal qualifications. Two key definitions of graduate ‘work readiness’
include ‘the right skills mix not only for the present but also for the future needs of
dynamic labour markets’ (OECD 2016: 11) and ‘transferable, non-discipline
specific skills a graduate may achieve through learning that have application in
study, work and life contexts’ (OECD 2016: 11). These essential skills can be
divided into four broad categories: fundamental skills, people skills, thinking skills
and personal skills (Australian Qualifications Framework 2015). How are these
skills acquired? Are they embodied into the teaching and learning process? Should
it be assumed that all graduates have acquired these skills on the completion of their
programme? A thorough discussion of the skills, attributes and qualities associated
with successful transition can be found in Chap. 3. These skills form the foundation
research questions that are discussed throughout this book within different national
settings.
At a functional level, an important issue is the identification of those skills and
attributes that contribute to employability and embedding these into existing
teaching and learning programmes. Another problem is that many of the skills
required cannot be taught directly. There are assumed or generic skills such as
numeracy, literacy and digital proficiency that are regarded as prerequisites for
completing education and training programmes. The soft skills include independent
evaluation, teamwork, tolerance and empathy Prikshat et al. (2018). Developing
these skills results in greater emphasis in programme design and delivery on not
only academic and technical skills but also generic and soft skills. As a conse-
quence, in many countries of the region, graduate programmes are systematically
incorporating skill and competence development towards job readiness—that is,
incorporating those attributes or competencies into programmes that will assist
transition into employment (Dhakal et al. 2018). However, even if the above
processes were effective, job access is not guaranteed. The labour market develops
unevenly through time, so possessing all the right attributes at a time of economic
downturn may mean that unemployment and underemployment will be the outcome
for many graduates. In addition, technological and structural change disrupts access
to jobs, displaces jobs or requires new or different skills from those accessed
through education. Having credentials and being trained with outdated skill sets
will only intensify the difficulties faced in the transition process. The World
Economic Forum (2015, 2016) has been emphasising the impact of automation and
digital technology on current and future jobs, and highlighting the changing skill
sets that are required for the dynamic jobs of the future together with the claim that
many future jobs currently do not exist, so that planning and developing the
appropriate skill sets become very problematic when it is not known what these new
jobs’ skill sets are!
The irony is that in many countries there are persistent claims of a skills shortage
alongside graduates being underemployed and unemployed (Montague et al. 2018);
6 S. Dhakal et al.

and in other countries there are programmes to support immigrant labour to address
skills shortages, while at the same time graduate transitional problems are intense
(Burgess et al. 2018). This book will examine the transition challenges within the
context of national labour markets. Using a stakeholder model of the transition
process (see Chap. 3) that identifies the key groups associated with the transition,
the book examines what the key stakeholders (government, tertiary institutions and
employers) associated with the transition process (see Chap. 3) are saying and
doing about the transition challenges. In particular, a key aim is to identify suc-
cessful processes and policies that have supported the transition process. To this
end, the country chapters will examine programmes at different levels (national and
local) and instigated by different stakeholders (government, educational institutions,
professions and employers) that seek to support the transition process. The
instrumental aims of the book are to find out what works, under what conditions it
works and why it works, that is, to inform practice and policy.

1.2 Why Is GWR an Important Public Policy Issue?

The ability of organisations across the region to attract the necessary quantity and
quality of employees is exacerbated by both a lack of available applicants and a lack
of competencies among those who are available in almost all Asia Pacific econo-
mies (see Dhakal et al. 2018). Circumstances indicate that this situation will worsen
unless significant policy changes are implemented by the three key stakeholders
who are integral to the transition process—namely, employers, government
authorities and educational institutions. Gathering tangible evidence on the needs,
and contributions of the labour market to employability, is the key starting point to
influence policymakers, human resource professionals and the managers of edu-
cational institutions to address what is regarded as being a turbulent period of
structural change linked to digitilisation, robotics and artificial intelligence (World
Economic Forum 2015). A starting point is to examine what programmes and
processes are in place to not only satisfy current skill needs but also to anticipate
and respond to future skill needs.
Rothwell and Rothwell (2017) provide a detailed and critical analysis of grad-
uate employability noting that (as suggested above) formal tertiary qualifications
provide a foundation for career development and provide skills that are required for
national economic development. In many countries in the Asia Pacific region,
access to and the completion of tertiary qualifications is seen as a pathway towards
accessing comfortable and secure living standards. However, the reality is that,
despite increasing participation rates and the internationalisation of secondary and
tertiary education within the region (Burgess et al. 2018), there is a graduate
employment challenge manifested by underemployment (doing jobs that do not
require graduate qualifications); high levels of (especially) youth unemployment
and recurring insecure employment postgraduation in casual, part-time, temporary
and short-term jobs (Dhakal et al. 2018). Can we put it down to the failure of
1 An Introduction to the Transition from … 7

institutions and individuals in either not possessing or not accessing the ‘right’ set
of attributes to obtain jobs? As Rothwell and Rothwell (2017) suggest, placing the
problem on the supply side of the equation obscures what is happening on the
demand side of the market. In particular, growing credentialism across occupations
and job entry positions may result in low-paid jobs requiring tertiary qualifications
for entry. Also both the quality and availability of jobs are diminishing due to a
combination of effects—automation and technological displacement, outsourcing
and offshoring of professional service jobs, privatisation and sub-contracting of the
public sector (a former source of apprenticeships and graduate entry/career jobs)
and filling skills shortages through migration as opposed to employing and training
graduates (Rothwell and Rothwell 2017; Burgess et al. 2018).
For governments, there are a number of challenges and issues that arise where
there are graduate transition and employment problems. First, it destroys the
assumption that investment in education will increase individual and community
living standards. Private and national investments in education are assumed to
generate a return to the individual and to the community, and it is the constant
mantra of international agencies such as the World Bank (2017) and the OECD
(2016). If this is not the case, then the justification for the heavy investment in
tertiary education is difficult to sustain. Second, as Rothwell and Rothwell (2017)
note, increased access and participation in higher education is both a direct and an
indirect means of addressing youth unemployment, a major challenge in labour
markets across the globe. However, if graduate employment is delayed or does not
occur, then the unemployment problem is transferred from the 16–20 years age
group to the 21–24 years age group. It is the same problem of workforce access but
only delayed, while the potential pool of unemployed and underemployed continue
their studies for a few additional years. The underlying problem of transition
remains; it is only delayed and shifted on to an older cohort. Third, by focusing on
graduate employability, there is an assumption that there are jobs for graduates and
that they possess the skill/knowledge and attributes associated with graduates. This
is one issue, especially within the context of automation and the fourth industrial
revolution (World Economic Forum 2015), that suggests that the inter-temporal
matching of skill sets with demand is under threat since the processes of digitili-
sation, robotics and automation across industries are so extensive and unpredictable
that the value of the investment in tertiary education can be quickly eroded. Today’s
skills and credentials are made redundant and do not meet the requirements for
‘new’ jobs.
Possessing accurate and detailed information about current and future job and
skill requirements remains a major challenge in the region, especially in those
countries with limited and infrequent national labour market data such as Thailand,
Vietnam and Indonesia, amongst others (see Dhakal et al. 2018). Without sys-
tematic, accurate and timely labour market data, the decisions around investment in
tertiary education and the programmes that are offered are not fully informed.
Finally, tertiary education has itself been transformed; it is more international, more
marketised and more competitive (Tran 2015); but if the ‘product’ does not gen-
erate the advertised promises made to the buyers of the service (such as getting a
8 S. Dhakal et al.

job), then the sector will have to address the transition challenges in order to restore
market credibility to its products, and governments will tie funding not to enrol-
ments and completions but to graduate employment outcomes (Tran 2015). Tertiary
institutions are likely to have the responsibility for GWR as one of the key criteria
for accessing public funding; in the process, this absolves the responsibility of other
stakeholders!
Our third strategic stakeholder group, employers, are not a passive receiver of
graduates into job entry positions. For their part, there is a need to inform tertiary
institutions and professional accreditation organisations of their skill needs and of
the sets of attributes they expect graduates to possess for purposes of job entry and
smooth transitioning into the workforce. There is often a reminder from employers
that graduates do not possess the appropriate attributes or skill sets required (NSW
Business Chamber 2016; Business Council of Australia 2017), but the available
evidence suggests that in several countries employers are not active in interacting
with other key stakeholders or developing transitional programmes such as
internships, traineeships, scholarships and placements (see Malaysia and Vietnam).
There is evidence that these take place in some countries, but generally not evenly
across sectors (see Australia), where in other countries the government is active in
bringing employers and tertiary institutions together (see Singapore); however, in
many cases where there are skill shortages, the response has been to resort to
immigration as a short-run solution to the matching problem for both unskilled and
skilled labours (see Malaysia, Singapore, Australia).

1.3 The Purpose of the Book

Within the context of the graduation to employment challenge, and within the Asia
Pacific region (and beyond), this book examines the views and responses of
stakeholders as well as considering the policy developments and responses to
graduate work-readiness. The examination of the challenges and the dimensions of
the challenges within the region have been previously examined (Prikshat et al.
2018). This book builds upon that prior research and brings in the views and
suggestions of stakeholders as to how GWR can be improved. Specifically, the
purpose is to identify and evaluate innovative programmes that can inform insti-
tutional and public policy responses to GWR challenges. By covering a diverse
number of economies in terms of their levels of development and labour market
arrangements, the study provides institutional and policy examples within very
different contexts. Following on from this, the specific questions that guide the book
are as follows:
1. What are the current policies, strategies and practical approaches that have been
developed, or might in the future be designed, by three strategic stakeholders:
(a) governments, (b) educational institutions and (c) employers to address these
challenges?
1 An Introduction to the Transition from … 9

2. How effective have the strategies identified been to date? Where do there appear
to be gaps/problems?
3. What can be learned from a comparative analysis regarding transitional pro-
gramme development and implementation?
4. What might constitute effective strategies to address these challenges for key
stakeholders in participating countries?

1.4 The Contribution of the Book

Dhakal et al. (2018) scoped the nature of the problem of GWR and discussed in
broad terms the policy approaches towards GWR in selected countries of the
region. This book builds upon the earlier publication—although there are differ-
ences in the country coverage—but differs from it by providing an overarching
multiple stakeholder theoretical framework (see Chap. 3) and introduces new evi-
dence which complements the broader conceptual material in the earlier book.
Specific contributions of this book include the following:
1. It presents new material on the nature, scope, causes and effects of GWR
challenges in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
2. It compares and contrasts the similarities and differences in GWR challenges in
the diverse countries (sociocultural, economic, government policies, industry
focus and educational systems).
3. It presents a series of new cases illustrating innovative approaches in different
countries.
4. It makes practical suggestions to address the challenges—from the perspectives
of the three key stakeholders.

1.5 Country Selection

The book focuses on the Asia Pacific region and Mauritius, taking in a diverse
range of countries by size, demography, economic development, industrial com-
position, ethnicity and religion. It is a dynamic part of the world in terms of growth
and significance, covering some of the highest growth economies globally such as
India. The countries included in the book represent developed nations (Australia,
Singapore and Taiwan), large populous nations (India), medium-size nations
(Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam) and smaller developing countries
(Mauritius). There are contrasts in geographic size (Australia, Singapore and
Mauritius), economic development (Indonesia and Taiwan), the importance of the
informal sector (Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Thailand), differences in educational
attainment (Thailand, India and Singapore), the organisation of the economy in
10 S. Dhakal et al.

terms of the balance between the public and private sector (Vietnam and Australia),
demography (the youth profile of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia against the
ageing profiles of Singapore and Australia) and industry structure (the importance
of services and resource industries in Australia; hospitality and tourism in
Mauritius; manufacturing in Vietnam and Taiwan; and agriculture in Malaysia,
Thailand and Indonesia).
There is a considerable range in the access to skills development and the
capacity to finance and provide skills development across the region. There are
major capacity limitations and constraints on development throughout the region,
including developing human capabilities (Rola-Rubzen and Burgess 2016). Several
countries have large components of the population which have limited schooling
and no formal qualifications (India, Thailand and Indonesia). In these same coun-
tries, the informal economy and agricultural sectors are significant, where formal
qualifications are not a condition of entry into the market. They also support a large
number of small and family businesses that also require few formal entry
requirements such as a minimum education. In addition, the provision of education
infrastructure (schools, colleges and universities) may be limited, and there may be
access challenges as a result of poor or unreliable transport systems. The lack of
technological infrastructure (mobile and fibre networks) may be another block on
skill development. At an operational level, there may be an absence of systematic
labour market data, which in turn limits the ability to plan; and of course access to
finance for infrastructure development in the training and education areas means the
capacity to supply the services that support skill acquisition. The diverse profiles of
the countries mean that advanced technology, robotics and digitalization associated
with the 4IR (WEF 2015) may have limited impact across economies that have
progressed through the 2IR and 3IR. However, if those sectors affected by the 4IR
are a small component of the economy, they will still require skilled labour if the
gains of 4IR are to be realised.
The book will contain separate chapters on each of the countries studied (see
Sect. 2), using the conceptual framework (see Chaps. 2, 3 and 4), in order to
analyse their economic, social and cultural contexts, and will conclude (Chap. 14)
with a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between all countries,
the nature and extent of their graduate employability, antecedents and conse-
quences, and practical approaches to their remediation, drawing upon the experi-
ences from all the included countries. Each country chapter follows a similar format
that includes the dimensions and trends in graduate work transitions, major chal-
lenges regarding core resources and competencies, current policy programme that
address GWR, the views of the key stakeholder groups, case studies of innovation
programmes that address GWR and findings. The lessons learnt from these cases
and their implications for other countries will be developed and presented in Sect. 3
(Chaps. 14 and 15) of the book.
1 An Introduction to the Transition from … 11

1.6 The Analytical Framework and Methods

The details of the underlying analytical framework and methods applied in the book
are set out in Chaps. 2 and 3. A stakeholder approach is developed to address the
problems in this area which are all analysed from a multiple stakeholder paradigm.
The key stakeholders considered include governments, schools, tertiary education
organisations, students, employers, professional organisations and families of stu-
dents. The primary focus of this book is on government, tertiary education and
employers, in order to highlight the policy and strategy implications for govern-
ments, industry and educational systems throughout the Asia Pacific and beyond. In
Chap. 4, alternative policy paradigms are set out—the EU, USA and Japan—for
contextualising the policy development around GWR. The purpose of the chapter is
to highlight the universality of the GWR challenge and to provide an overview of
different approaches to the challenge within different institutional and policy con-
texts. Despite the long experience with programmes to improve GWR within these
developing economy contexts, the problems of youth unemployment and the
transition challenges to accessing a job remain. From this arises the rhetorical
question of whether policy development in the Asia Pacific can be informed by the
experience of developed economies. Employing documentary analysis and inter-
views with key stakeholders, the country chapters seek to identify programmes and
policies that appear to work effectively in terms of improving GWR and in assisting
the transition from graduation to employment. The analysis is exploratory (Davies
2006) to the extent that it provides an overview of the challenges of GWR in each
country, examines policies and processes that support GWR, and if possible
identifies those innovative programmes that support the transition process. From
this scoping exercise, the book ties together the country studies into an overview
and comparative analysis in Sect. 3 of the book.

1.7 The Limitations of the Book

The book has a number of limitations that should be noted. It does not cover all
countries in the region, notably, absences include China and the Philippines. The
focus is on a core stakeholder group and other potentially relevant stakeholders are
not included, for example, students, trade unions and professionals. The analysis is
biased towards instructive and successful programmes to support GWR, and inef-
fective programmes were not included within the analytical framework. The dif-
ferences across the countries included in terms of size, development, infrastructure,
political structures and sectoral composition means that within a chapter it is not
possible to capture this diversity and complexity for countries such as India,
Indonesia and Thailand. Finally, the data is not exhaustive in terms of the coverage
of core stakeholders, and in terms of the use of secondary data in some countries
detailed or timely data is not available.
12 S. Dhakal et al.

References

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Youth-Employment-Roundtable-2016-Summary.pdf.aspx. Accessed November 27, 2017.
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Prikshat, V., Nankervis, A., Priyono, S., Salleh, N., Connell, J., & Burgess, J. (2018). Graduate
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Rola-Rubzen, M., & Burgess, J. (2016). Human development and capacity building: Asia Pacific
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Rothwell, A., & Rothwell, F. (2017). Graduate employability: A critical oversight. In M.
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Tran, T. T. (2015). Enhancing graduate employability and the need for university-enterprise
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World Economic Forum. (2015). Human capital index. http://reports.weforum.org/human-capital-
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Jobs.pdf.
1 An Introduction to the Transition from … 13

Subas Dhakal is a Lecturer at Curtin Business School, Curtin University. He is a management

academic with expertise in the theory and practice of sustainable development. Prior to Curtin
appointment, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow under the federally funded Collaborative Research
Networks (CRN) programme implemented in partnership between Southern Cross University and
University of Queensland. He has extensive research experiences/publications in the areas of
corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement, green jobs and employability,
international development and disasters management, and social entrepreneurship and
community-based tourism in the Asia Pacific and South Asian regions.

Verma Prikshat Lecturer, Australia Institute of Business, Adelaide. He has more than 17 years of
academic experience, including teaching, research and programme management and coordination
at tertiary level, in Australian and Indian universities. He has taught a variety of management
courses (for example, Management, Human Resource Management, Organisation Change and
Management, Organisation Behaviour, Leadership, Managing Change and Leadership and
Employment Relations) at three Australian universities (namely, Central Queensland University—
Melbourne Campus and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Northern Territory).
He has presented his research findings in numerous international conferences, and his major areas
of research interest are in human resource competencies and graduate work-readiness challenges in
the Asia Pacific region.

Alan Nankervis is an Adjunct Professor of HRM at RMIT University. He was formerly the
Research Director in the School of Management at Curtin University, the Director of the Graduate
School of Management at Western Sydney University and the Head of HRM at RMIT. He is also
the Chair of the Australian HR Institute’s national programme accreditation committee. He has
more than 150 publications, including books, book chapters, journal articles and international
conference presentations. His research interests include comparative Asian HRM/management,
HRM and organisational effectiveness, artificial intelligence and the future of work in the Asia
Pacific.

John Burgess is Professor of Management at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He held

previous professorial appointments at the University of Newcastle and Curtin University. His
research interests include HRM practices of multinational enterprises, the relationship between
working time and health, transitory labour markets, contingent/insecure employment arrangements
and work in the care sectors.
Chapter 2
Conceptualising Graduate
Work-Readiness: Theories, Concepts
and Implications for Practice
and Research

Verma Prikshat, Alan Nankervis, John Burgess and Subas Dhakal

Abstract This chapter discusses the conceptualization of graduate work-readiness

(GWR) and outlines the theoretical underpinnings associated with developing these
conceptualisations. The chapter develops the Work-Related Integrated Competence
Model (WRICM) as a comprehensive representation of the competency sets
required by graduates to meet the expectations of the multiple stakeholders asso-
ciated with the graduate transition process. The chapter evaluates the measurement
of GWR using the WRICM models and compares it to other models used to
measure GWR. The implications and possibilities of the WRICM model are then
outlined. The proposed model provides a comprehensive foundation for evaluating
GWR and for informing practice and policy around developing GWR attributes.

Keywords Graduate work-readiness Model Work-related competencies


WRICM Graduate integrated competence model

2.1 Introduction

Graduate work-readiness is gaining importance as a selection criterion for predicting

graduate potential, as well as a predictor for graduates’ potential job performance
and career advancement in the workplace (Atlay and Harris 2000; Barrington et al.

V. Prikshat (&)
Australian Institute of Business, Adelaide, Australia
e-mail: vermaprikshat@gmail.com
A. Nankervis
J. Burgess
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
e-mail: alan.nankervis@rmit.edu.au
J. Burgess
e-mail: John.burgess@rmit.edu.au
S. Dhakal
Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
e-mail: Subas.dhakal@curtin.edu.au

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 15

S. Dhakal et al. (eds.), The Transition from Graduation to Work, Work,
Organization, and Employment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0974-8_2
16 V. Prikshat et al.

2006; Gardner and Liu 1997; Walker et al. 2013). Recent developments in higher
education have seen a strong emphasis being placed on ‘work-ready graduates’,
contingent upon demonstrable graduate outcomes, who are competent within their
disciplinary fields and possess the abilities necessary to negotiate a world of work
that is in constant flux (Barrie 2006; O’Brien et al. 2013). It has emerged as an
important criterion linked to the increasing demand from employers for graduates to
be equipped with work-readiness skills; and at the same time it has become
increasingly normalised in the design of university graduates’ capabilities
(Cavanagh et al. 2015; Hager and Holland 2006). Most industrialised countries now
accept the link between tertiary study and employment and give due recognition to
work-readiness as an important outcome of tertiary education (Billett 2012; Oprean
2007; Tynjälä et al. 2003), and graduates are expected to exit their studies in
work-ready mode and with demonstrable levels of employability (Clarke 2017). In
the wake of the shift towards the knowledge economy, increasing globalisation,
industry needs graduates who can not only demonstrate the technical knowledge and
competencies of their discipline, but also a range of work-relevant skills and com-
petencies (Costea et al. 2012; Harvey 2001; Hinchliffe and Jolly 2011).
There needs to be an open debate about what it means to be ‘work-ready’ in
diverse work contexts, as well as discussions about the role of employers in
building on-going graduate employability in the workplace (Clarke 2017). Given
the public policy significance of the topic, the conceptualisation of graduate
job-readiness becomes important in order to further integrate and contextualise it
within learning processes (Burgess et al. 2017). The aim of this chapter is to
examine current theories and develop a deeper conceptual understanding of grad-
uate work-readiness and its implications for the transition from graduation to work
through possible measurement instruments, and its contribution to research and
practice.

2.2 Review of Work-Readiness Theoretical Frameworks

The last two decades have witnessed an upsurge in the number of studies which
have attempted to determine the set of work-readiness competencies required by
graduates. A well-known review by Porter and McKibbin (1988) floated this term
in the context of business schools that tend to fall short in imparting the requisite
skills to allow recent graduates to be truly work- ready. O’Neil et al. (1997)
identified and categorised a framework of workforce-readiness skills to address
economic difficulties and the challenge of competing in world markets, based on
five major studies in United States. Gardner and Liu’s (1997) study examined
‘Workforce-readiness of graduates’ in a survey of 150 employers that compared the
entry-level job requirements to the on-the-job performances of new hires. Further,
this concept was occasionally referred to in the context of health care research,
where due to the increasing complexity and acuity of health care companies, there
was an expectation by health care organisations for graduate nurses to ‘hit the
2 Conceptualising Graduate Work-Readiness: Theories, Concepts … 17

ground running’ (Romyn et al. 2009), and by maintaining currency in the under-
graduate nursing curricula, ultimately influencing the work- readiness of new
nursing graduates (Hillman and Foster 2011; Wolff et al. 2010).
The prevalent assumption is that work-readiness is related to the propensity of
the student to know what skills they have developed and how they match the
criteria for a desired job (Harvey 2001). Mason et al. (2006: 2–3) described
work-readiness as ‘possession of the skills, knowledge, attitudes and commercial
understanding that will enable new graduates to make productive contributions to
organisational objectives soon after commencing employment and further sug-
gested that numeracy, literacy, information technology, general communication,
problem-solving and teamwork; together with ‘learning how to learn’ and ‘un-
derstanding the world of work’ were key competencies for all new job applicants.
Cabellero and Walker (2010: 16), while observing that the concept of
work-readiness was still in its early stages of development, defined it as the extent
to which graduates are perceived to possess the skills and attributes that render them
‘prepared’ or ‘ready’ for success in the workplace. These skills are indicative of
graduate potential in terms of job performance and career advancement (Cabellero
and Walker 2010). Jollands et al. (2012) defined work-readiness as a complex of
generic attributes that allow graduates to apply their technical knowledge to
problem-identification and problem-solving once they join the workforce. The ACT
report (2013) defined it as a framework for aligning education and training to
current job-skill requirements and describes what individuals must achieve to
secure in-demand jobs and to transition throughout their careers (Cited in Clarke
2013). Glover et al. (2002: 294–295) referred to it as ‘enhanced capacity to ensure
employment’, whereas Coetzee (2012), described work-readiness as a component
of the ‘graduate-ness’ (the effect on knowledge, skills and attitudes of having
undertaken an undergraduate degree) of a student who has a sense of
‘self-directedness,’ or an ability to recognise one’s ‘personal agency’ in obtaining
and keeping employment. Further, given differences across regions and countries,
the ambiguity and fluidity of the definitional and conceptualisation structures of
job-readiness extends beyond industries and occupations (Burgess et al. 2017).
Thus, the foremost challenge is to conceptualise graduate work-readiness against a
theoretical framework and underpinning competencies that it constitutes. The next
section of the chapter explores the construct of graduate work-readiness encom-
passing its important competencies.

2.3 Work-Readiness Integrated Competence Model

(WRICM)

Extant research has identified that ‘the extent to which graduates are ‘work-ready’ is
seen as indicative of their potential in terms of job performance and career
advancement’ (Cabellero and Walker 2010: 13). The current graduate recruitment
18 V. Prikshat et al.

literature does not provide a clear conceptualisation of what defines work-readiness

in graduate employees (Barrington et al. 2006). It is generally described as a
concept with different labels, such as, work-preparedness, graduate employability,
transferable skills, key competencies, and generic attributes (Cabellero and Walker
2010; Green et al. 2009; Litchfield et al. 2008).
Although there is clearly some consensus amongst stakeholders on the impor-
tance of identifying the work-readiness of their graduates, yet the same cannot
really be said for which graduate attributes are most important (Bridgstock 2009;
Holmes 2013; Daniels and Brooker 2014). Different stakeholders attribute value
differently and vary in terms of the skills, capabilities, and competencies articulated
by employers as being indicative of graduate work-readiness (Bridgstock 2009;
Caballero et al. 2011; Cavanagh et al. 2015; Green et al. 2009, Hager and Holland
2006; Wye and Lim 2009). Given this variance in the perceptions of stakeholders, it
is easy enough to compile lists of graduate work-readiness competencies, but it is
quite a different matter to conduct the research needed to determine whether these
competencies are the actual work-readiness competencies sought by graduates to
incorporate them into the workplace or not. It is therefore important that not only is
a list of graduate work-readiness competencies identified, but also that there is a
conceptualization of work-readiness to determine the applicability of this concept
and the identified competencies in the context of industry and employment.
For this conceptualisation, we frame graduate work-readiness in the context of
strategic management theory using the ‘resource-based view (RBV)’ approach. The
resource-based view posits that organisations can create competitive advantage by
acquiring or developing resources that are rare, valuable, and hard to imitate and
replace (Barney 1991, cited in Finch et al. 2016). The Finch et al. study (2016),
following Barney (1991) and Teece et al. (1997), suggested that employability can
be viewed as the complex integration and application of five specific resources and
dynamic capabilities that are perceived as being: valuable, rare, hard to imitate and
to substitute by the market: intellectual, personality, meta-skill, job-specific, and
integrated dynamic capabilities. Based on Finch et al.’s (2016) study, we extend the
notion further to conceptualise that work-readiness can be defined as an integrated
dynamic competence that requires the reconfiguration, synthesis and integration of
four resources—namely, intellectual, personality, meta-skill, job-specific—that
needs to be channeled by graduates into a holistic, compelling and personal nar-
rative that appeals to potential employers. We propose this construct as a ‘Work-
readiness integrated competence model (WRICM)’ that may serve as a platform for
further research into graduate work-readiness.
Intellectual resources are cognitive skills that are complex, and involve decision
making, problem-solving, reasoning and knowing how to learn from previous sit-
uations (Reid and Anderson 2012). Given that previous research has demonstrated a
strong relationship between intellectual resources and employability across a
variety of occupations and contexts (Hinchliffe and Jolly 2011; Scherbaum et al.
2012; Schmidt and Hunter 2004; Stiwne and Jungert 2010), thus it aptly fits as one
of the dimensions of graduate work-readiness. Further, given that employers per-
ceive specific personality traits as indicators of future performance, contributions
2 Conceptualising Graduate Work-Readiness: Theories, Concepts … 19

and career success (Hogan et al. 1996; Wellman 2010), therefore personality
resources constitute an important dimension of graduate work-readiness. Further,
meta-skills resources also become an important dimension of graduate
work-readiness as recent research has noted these to be important predictors of
employability (Canadian Council of Chief Executives 2014; Economist Intelligence
Unit 2014; Finch et al. 2012). Job-specific resources indicate to employers that a
graduate possesses the minimum proficiencies required to perform a specific role
(Bhaerman and Spill 1988 cited in Finch et al. 2016).
Along the lines of Finch et al. (2016), graduates with intellectual, personality,
meta-skill and job-specific resources must develop the ability to combine or
reconfigure these resources to be work-ready and that will help them in being able
to achieve competitively and acquire employability. The successful reconfiguration,
synthesis and integration of these four resources by graduates into a holistic,
compelling and personal narrative, originally proposed as integrated dynamic
capabilities (Finch et al. 2016), and rechristened as ‘integrated competence’ that
appeals to potential employers, becomes the mainframe of our WRICM construct.
Further based on our earlier work (Nankervis et al. 2018), the ten most important
work-readiness competencies and associated dimensions (See Table 2.1 for list of
competencies and associated dimensions) were matched to the WRICM’s four
resources, to expand this construct. These ten competencies were based on a
comprehensive literature review from 35 studies included in the review (See
Nankervis et al. 2018 for more details).
Figure 2.1 presents the WRICM which is based on an adaption of Finch et al.’s
(2016) work, together with the inclusion of the ten competencies under four main
resources:

2.4 Implications of WRICM for Transitions

from Graduation to Work

Conceptually, issues such as work transition and employability are complex and
require an holistic analysis which includes an array of stakeholders (i.e. individual
graduates, employers, professional associations, policy makers and the education
system—Monteiro et al. 2016) The link between graduation and learning outcomes
and further employability is not always straightforward, and there are other factors
which are interacting in a complex equation which influences the transition to work
and employability (Alves 2005). Indeed, the conceptualisation of WRICM is a
positive step that has categorised the requisite integrated competencies for gradu-
ates. By using this construct the concerned stakeholders can understand the
expected graduate competence levels. Thus, the WRICM model complements and
enriches the multiple stakeholder framework adopted in our study (see Chap. 3).
Our conceptualisation of WRICM construct has several implications for research
and practice, some of which are reviewed next. We begin with the measurement of
graduate work-readiness integrated competencies, because high-quality measures
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remarkable fact that the Eutermes resembles the Anoplotermes so
extremely that the two can scarcely be distinguished, though anatomically
they are quite different. The resemblance is indeed so great that it
deceived Von Jhering into supposing that the two genera were alternate
generations of a single species, one generation possessing soldiers, the
other being without them. Subsequently, by anatomical investigation, he
recognised[299] the error into which he had fallen—an error that, under
such peculiar circumstances, was quite pardonable.

Fig. 237.—Changes in external form of the young larva of Calotermes

rugosus. A, Newly hatched with nine joints in antennae, × 8; B, older
larva with ten joints, × 8; C, next stage with eleven joints, × 8; D, larva
with twelve joints; the position of the parts of the alimentary canal are
shown—v, crop; m, stomach; b, paunch; e, intestine; r, dorsal vessel, ×
16⁄3 (After Fritz Müller.)
Hagen has suggested[300] that Hodotermes japonicus never produces
winged forms. Very little, however, is actually known as to this species.

Marching and Harvesting Termites.—Smeathman alluded to a

remarkable Termes seen by him in Africa, giving it the name of T. viarum.
Nothing further is known of this Insect, which, according to Smeathman's
account, may possibly be the most remarkable of the family. T. viarum is
said to be larger than T. bellicosus, and was discovered issuing in large
numbers from a hole in the ground and marching in columns consisting of
workers directed by soldiers of enormous size, some of whom climbed up
plants and gave audible signals to the army, which immediately
responded with a hissing noise and by increasing their pace with the
utmost hurry; they continued marching by the spot where Smeathman
observed them for upwards of an hour. He was not able to find their
nests, and no specimens have been preserved; both soldiers and workers
possessed eyes. Marching in this way by daylight is contrary to the nature
of ordinary Termites, and some doubt has existed as to the correctness of
Smeathman's observation, which has in fact remained for upwards of a
century without confirmation.

Fig. 238.—Eyed, grass-cutting Termite, Hodotermes havilandi, A, soldier; B,

worker. South Africa. In life the head is carried horizontally, so the
piece of grass sticks up like a flag-pole.

Mr. G. D. Haviland has, however, this year discovered in Natal a Termite

which shows that there are species in Africa of the kind described by
Smeathman, the workers and soldiers being possessed of facetted eyes.
Mr. Haviland states that the workers of this species issue from holes in
the ground during the heat of the day and cut grass both dead and green.
They carry it, in lengths of about two inches, to the mouths of the holes,
often leaving it there and going at once to fetch more. Under acacia
bushes they carry acacia leaflets as well as grass. In the middle of the
day more grass accumulates at the entrance to the holes than can be
taken in, but as the heat of the day diminishes the workers cease to
forage and take in the accumulation. When the grass is all in they
sometimes close the mouth of the hole with moistened pellets of earth
brought in their mouths. The soldiers remain in the holes; when disturbed
they jerk themselves like soldiers of other species to frighten away the
intruder; when they bite, their grip is very tenacious. The holes are about
⅓ of an inch in diameter, and there are usually several of them a few
yards apart; around each of them is a patch over which the grass has
been cut quite short. Mr. Haviland followed these holes by digging for a
distance of 20 feet and to a depth of 5½ feet; they remain uniform in size
except that near the entrance there may be one or two chambers in which
the grass is temporarily stored, but these do not hold more than would be
collected in an hour or two. As the burrow descends it is occasionally
joined by another, and at the point of junction there is usually a
considerable widening. Sometimes they run straight for 6 or 7 feet,
sometimes they curve abruptly, sometimes they are nearly horizontal, but
near the mouth may be almost vertical in direction. These Termites are
very local, but the specimens are numerous when found. Mr. Haviland
dug for these Insects at two places on the Tugela river, one of them being
at Colenso. It is much to be regretted that he was unable to reach the
nest. We figure a soldier selected from specimens sent by Mr. Haviland to
the Cambridge University Museum. This Insect is apparently much
smaller than Smeathman's T. viarum. Other species of Termitidae have
been described[301] as forming underground tunnels in Africa, but none of
the species have yet been satisfactorily identified.

It was stated by Smeathman that some species of Termites had

chambers in their habitations in which grew a kind of fungus used by the
Insects for food; Mr. Haviland is able to confirm Smeathman in this
particular; he having found fungus-chambers in the nests of more than
one species both in Singapore and South Africa (Fig. 240).

Habitations.—In nothing do Termites differ more than in the habitations

they form. Sometimes, as we have mentioned in the case of Calotermes,
there is no real structure formed; only a few barriers being erected in
burrows or natural hollows in wood. In other cases very extensive
structures are formed, so that the work of the Termites becomes a
conspicuous feature in the landscape. This is of course only the case in
regions that are not much interfered with by man; the great dwellings
spoken of by Smeathman and others soon disappear from the
neighbourhood of settlements, but in parts of Africa and in Australia large
dwellings are still formed by these creatures. In the latter part of the world
there exists a very remarkable one, formed by an undetermined species
called by the officers and crew of her Majesty's ship Penguin the
"compass ant." The outline of one of the structures formed by this Termite
we represent in Fig. 239. Mr. J. J. Walker, to whom we are indebted for
the sketch from which this figure is taken, has also favoured us with the
following extract from his diary, of date 4th August 1890: "The most
interesting feature in the scenery (about forty miles inland from Port
Darwin) was the constant succession of huge mounds raised by the
Termites, of which I had seen some comparatively small examples in my
rambles near Port Darwin; but these exceeded in dimensions all I had
ever seen. The most frequent as well as the largest kind was usually of a
reddish or ferruginous colour outside, and generally almost cylindrical in
shape with obtusely-pointed top, but nearly always more or less weather-
worn, with great irregular buttresses and deep ruts down the sides; many
of them look like ruined towers in miniature. Their usual height was from 8
to 10 feet, but many were much higher, and some attained an (estimated)
elevation of at least 20 feet. Another kind, seen only in one or two places
along the line, was of a much more singular character; they averaged
only 4 to 5 feet high, were built of a dark-gray mud, and in shape were
like thin flat wedges set upright (see Fig. 239), reminding one of
tombstones in a churchyard. But the most remarkable feature about these
mounds was that they had all the same orientation, viz. with the long
faces of the wedge pointing nearly north and south. Why this is so I am
quite at a loss to imagine, and I much regret that I had no opportunity of
closely examining these most singular structures. A third kind of mound,
usually not exceeding 2 feet in height, was of a simple, acute, conical
figure, and generally of a gray colour somewhat paler than the last."

Fig. 239.—Termitarium of compass or meridian Termite of North Australia.

A, face extending south and north; B, cross-section.
The material used for the construction of the dwellings is either earth,
wood, or the excrement of the Termites. The huge edifices mentioned by
Smeathman are composed of earth cemented together so as to look like
stone or brick, and the buildings appear to be almost as strong as if they
were actually constructed with these materials. In many cases the
substance used is comminuted wood that has passed one or more times
through the alimentary canal of the Insects, and may therefore be called
excrement. Whether the stone-like material is made from earth that has
passed through the alimentary canal or from grains gathered for the
purpose has not been well ascertained. In any case the material is
cemented together by means of the secretions of glands. Dudley and
Beaumont have described the process of construction, in a species
observed by them, saying that earth is brought and placed in position by
the mandibles, and cemented by liquid from the abdomen.[302] Von
Jhering says[303] that some species form the exterior walls of their
dwellings of stone-like material, but make use of woody matter for the
construction of the interior. Smeathman has described the nest of Termes
bellicosus. The whole of the very strong external wall consists of clay-like
material, cemented by the secretions of the Termites to a very firm
consistence. The royal cell is built of the same material as the framework
of the nest; whilst the nurseries in which the young are chiefly found are
built of woody material, and are always covered with a kind of mould—the
mycelium of a fungus—and plentifully sprinkled with small white bodies,
which, under the microscope, are found to be filled with a number of
oblong, spore-like cells.

Fig. 240.—Fragment of Termitarium of Termes angustatus, S. Africa,

showing fungus chambers and orifices of communication.

These nurseries rest on the clay-like framework of the nest, but are not
attached thereto; they in no way support it, or one another, indeed they
have the appearance of being constantly added to on their upper margins
and constantly eaten away on their under parts. Fig. 240 represents the
appearance of the upper boundary of a nursery taken from a nest of
Termes angustatus. The small white bodies, mentioned above, have
disappeared: the mycelium of the fungus, though not shown in the figure,
is still visible on the specimen from which it was drawn, and gives rise to a
whitish, glaucous appearance.

In various parts of the world nests formed on trees by Termites are to be

seen; these tree nests are, it would appear, in some cases only parts of a
community, and are connected with the main body by galleries. In other
cases nests are formed in various positions of advantage; Messrs.
Hubbard and Hagen have given us an account[304] of some of these—
probably the work of Eutermes ripperti—as seen in Jamaica. They
describe the nests as spherical or conical masses, looking externally as if
composed of loamy earth; they are placed on trees, fences, or walls; they
vary in size from that of a man's fist to that of a hogshead; they appear to
be composed of finely comminuted wood fastened together by saliva.
These nests are formed on the same principle as those of the wasps that
make nests hanging to trees and bushes, as they consist of an external
protecting envelope covering a comb-like mass in the interior. At the
bottom of the nest there is a covered gallery leading to the earth, where
the main nest appears to be situate; galleries also are constructed so as
to lead to the tops of trees and other places, in such a manner that the
Termite can still keep up its peculiarity of working and travelling in tunnels
and yet roam over a large area; the activity of these Termites continues
day and night. In each nest there is a queen, who lays eggs that are
removed by the worker Termites to the bottom of the nest. The young are
fed on a prepared food, consisting apparently of comminuted vegetable
matter, of which considerable masses are laid in store. Some of the nests
are rich in containing many pounds' weight of this material, while others
are apparently quite destitute of it. There is a soldier form and at least two
kinds of workers. Some species of true ant frequently shares the nest of
these white ants, but on what terms the two kinds of Insects live together
is not stated.

Termite Ravages.—In countries whose climate is favourable to their

constitutions certain kinds of Termites become of great importance to our
own species. Owing to their taste for woody matter and to their habit of
working in concealment, it is no uncommon thing for it to be discovered
that Termites have obtained access to a building and have practically
destroyed the wooden materials used in its construction; all the interior of
the wood being eaten away and only a thin outer shell left intact. A
Termite, T. tenuis, was introduced—in what manner is not certainly
known[305]—to the Island of St. Helena, and committed such extensive
ravages there that Jamestown, the capital, was practically destroyed and
new buildings had to be erected. Other such cases are on record.
Destructive species can sometimes be destroyed by placing in the nests
a portion of arsenicated food. This is eaten by some individuals, who
perish in consequence; and their dead bodies being consumed by their
comrades, the colony becomes checked if not exterminated.

The number of described species of Termitidae does not much exceed

100, but this is certainly only a small portion of those existing, the total of
which may probably reach 1000 species.

Termitidae are classed by some naturalists with the Orthoptera, and they
have a great deal in common with some of the cursorial division of that
Order, more particularly Forficulidae and Blattidae; but they differ from
Orthoptera in the nature and form of the wings. They are also classed by
some, with a few other forms, as a separate Order of Pseudo-Neuroptera
called Corrodentia, but this is not a very satisfactory course, as the
Termitidae do not agree closely with the forms associated with them,
while the aggregate so formed is far from being very distinct from other
forms of Neuroptera. On the whole the best plan appears to be to treat
the Termitidae as forming a distinct family of the Order Neuroptera, or to
make it a distinct Order, as proposed by Grassi. Packard now associates
Termites in an Order with the biting-lice, and calls it Platyptera.

Fossil Termites.—Termitidae were very abundant in Tertiary times, and

the genera appear to have been then much the same as at present. In
Mesozoic strata the remains of true Termitidae apparently exist in the Lias
in Europe, but farther back than this the family has not been satisfactorily
traced. It was formerly supposed that Termitidae existed in the
Carboniferous strata, but this appears to be very doubtful; and the fossil
remains of that epoch, which were presumed to be those of Termites, are
now referred by Scudder and others to the Neuropteroid division of the
Order Palaeodictyoptera, an Order which is formed entirely of Palaeozoic
fossil remains.
 CHAPTER XVII

NEUROPTERA CONTINUED—PSOCIDAE (BOOK-LICE AND DEATH-WATCHES)—

THE FIRST FAMILY OF AMPHIBIOUS NEUROPTERA (PERLIDAE, STONE-FLIES).

Fam. IV. Psocidae—Book-Lice, Death-Watches.

Minute Insects with slender, thread-like, or hair-like antennae; four

delicate membranous wings, the front pair of which are the larger;
their neuration is not abundant and is irregular, so that the cells are
also irregularly arranged; the transverse nervules are only one or two
in number.[306] Prothorax very small, in the winged forms quite
concealed between the head and the large mesothorax; this latter
closely connected with, or fused with, the metathorax. Species quite
wingless, or with wings unfitted for flight, exist; in them the prothorax
is not so extremely small, while the mesothorax is smaller than in the
winged forms. Tarsi of two or three segments. Metamorphosis slight,
marked chiefly by the development of wings and ocelli.

Fig. 241.—Psocus fasciatus, England. (After M‘Lachlan.)

The Psocidae are without exception small and soft-bodied Insects, and
are only known to those who are not entomologists by the wingless forms
that run about in uninhabited or quiet apartments, and are called dust-lice
or book-lice. They are perhaps more similar to Termitidae than to any
other Insects, but the two families differ much in the structure of their
wings, and are totally dissimilar in the nature of their lives.

Fig. 242.—Transverse horizontal section of head of Psocus: f, fork or pick; t,

lingua; mx, left maxilla; c, cardo; p, stipes; m.m, muscles; m.s, socket
 of mandible.

Fig. 243.—A, Front of head of Psocus heteromorphus; cl, post-clypeus; g,

epicranium: B, transverse horizontal section of post-clypeus of Psocus:
cl, post-clypeus; c.m, clypeal muscles; g, epicranium; t, tendons; l.m,
labial muscle in section; oe, oesophagus; oe.b, oesophageal bone.
(After Burgess and Bertkau.)

The antennae consist of eleven to twenty-five joints, or even more, about

thirteen being the usual number; the basal two are thicker than the others,
and are destitute of setae or pubescence such as the others possess.
The maxillae and labium are remarkable. The former possesses a
peculiar hard pick or elongate rod; this is considered by many naturalists
to be the inner lobe, but Burgess thinks it more probably an independent
organ,[307] as it has no articulation of any kind with the outer lobe. The
latter is remarkably thick and fleshy; the palpus is 5-jointed. Other
authorities consider the pick to be certainly the inner lobe; if it be not, the
latter is quite wanting. Hagen agrees with Burgess in stating that the pick
slides in the outer lobe as in a sheath. The labium has a large mentum
and a ligula divided anteriorly into two lobes; at each outer angle in front
there is a globular projection, which is doubtless the labial palpus;
reposing on the labium there is a large free lingua. The labrum is large,
attached to a distinct clypeus, behind which there is a remarkable post-
clypeus, which is usually prominent as if inflated; to its inner face are
attached several muscles which converge to be inserted on a plate
placed below the anterior part of the oesophagus, and called by Burgess
the oesophageal bone; under or within the lingua there is a pair of lingual
glands. Judging from Grosse's study of the mouth of Mallophaga, we may
conclude that the oesophageal bone will prove to be a sclerite of the
hypopharynx. The eyes of the winged forms are frequently remarkably
convex, and there are also three ocelli, triangularly placed on the vertex.
The head is free and very mobile. The coxae are rather small, exserted,
contiguous; the sterna small. The abdomen has usually ten segments,
though sometimes only nine can be detected.

The thorax in Psocidae usually looks as if it consisted of only two

segments. This is due to two opposite conditions: (1) that in the winged
forms the prothorax is reduced to a plate concealed in the fissure
between the head and the mesothorax bearing the first pair of wings; (2)
that in the wingless forms (Fig. 247), though the prothorax is distinct, the
meso- and metathorax are fused into one segment.

Fig. 244.—Reproductive organs of Clothilla pulsatoria. A, Male; a, vesiculae

seminales; b, testes; c, vasa deferentia; d, ejaculatory duct. B, Female;
a, b, egg-tubes; c, oviduct; d, uterus, containing egg; e, accessory
gland (the enveloping sac in section); f, its duct. (After Nitzsch.)

The internal anatomy is only very incompletely known. Nitzsch[308] has,

however, described the alimentary canal and the reproductive organs of
Clothilla pulsatoria. The former is remarkably simple: no proventriculus or
crop was found; the stomach is very elongate, and consists of a sac-like
anterior portion and an elongate, tubular posterior part. There are four
Malpighian tubes. The posterior part of the canal is remarkably short, the
small intestine being scarcely as long as the rectum. The ovaries (Fig.
244, B) consist of five egg-tubes on each side; connected with the oviduct
there is a peculiar accessory gland consisting of a sac containing other
small sacs each with an elongate efferent duct; the number of the
secondary sacs varies from one to four according to the individual. The
testis (Fig. 244, A, b) is a simple capsule; connected with the base of the
ejaculatory duct there is a pair of elongate accessory glands or vesiculae
seminales.

The life-history has never been satisfactorily sketched. The young greatly
resemble the old, but have no ocelli or wings, and sometimes the tarsi are
of two joints, while in the adult they have three. The antennae have also
in these cases a less number of joints in the young stage. The food is
animal or vegetable refuse substances; many live on fungoid matter of
various kinds, mouldy chaff being, it is said, a favourite pabulum; the
mould on palings is a source of food to many; others live on the rust-fungi
of leaves, and many frequent the bark of trees. They are able to spin
webs, probably by the aid of the lingual glands; the eggs are deposited, in
some cases, on leaves and covered with a web. Hagen says that a
peculiar organ, possibly a gland—he calls it a hose[309]—exists at the
base of the tarsal claws. In our climate most of the species pass the
winter in the egg-state. There may be two generations in a year, perhaps
more.

The nomenclature of the wing-veins of Psocidae has given rise to much

discussion.[310] The system shown in the accompanying figure is
probably the most convenient; the subcostal vein (2) is always obscure,
and sometimes can only be detected by very minute examination. Some
interesting information as to the minute structure and mode of formation
of the wings and their nervures has been given by Hagen.[311]

Fig. 245.—Anterior wing of Elipsocus brevistylus. (After Reuter.) 1, Costal

vein; 2, subcostal; 3, radial; 4, cubitus; 4a, branches of cubitus; 5,
sector of the radius; 5a, forks thereof.

In the young the wings first appear as buds, or outgrowths of the sides of
the meso- and meta-thorax; afterwards the prothorax decreases, while
the other two thoracic segments and the wing-rudiments attached to them
increase. The wings from their very origin appear to be different from
those of the Orthoptera, and the changes that take place in the thoracic
segments in the course of the development, differ from those that occur in
Orthoptera.
 Fig. 246.—Micropterous form of Mesopsocus unipunctatus. a, a, Wings.
(After Bertkau.)

There are several peculiarities connected with the wings. Frequently they
exist, though of no use for flight; some Psocidae that have perfectly-
formed wings are so reluctant to use them that, M‘Lachlan says, they will
allow themselves to be crushed without seeking to escape by flight. At
certain periods, however, some Psocidae float on the wing in
considerable numbers, especially in a moist still atmosphere, and then
drift about like the winged Aphididae, which are frequently found with
them. There is evidence that individuals, or generations, of some of the
winged species occur with only rudimentary wings; although this has
been denied by Kolbe, there can be no doubt about it. The form figured
above (Fig. 246) was described by Bertkau[312] as a distinct genus, but
was afterwards recognised by him[313] to be a short-winged form of
Mesopsocus unipunctatus. It is probable that the adult female of this
species has the wings always micropterous, while the male has these
organs of the full size. In other species the condition of the rudimentary
wings seems to be quite constant. The facts concerning the wings of
Psocidae are so peculiar that Kolbe came to the conclusion that the
organs exist not because they are of use for flight, so much as because it
is the nature of an Insect to develop wings.[314]

Some of the species of Psocidae have never any trace of wings. These
apterous forms are mostly included in the division Atropinae, and are
usually very minute; it has been again and again erroneously stated that
they are the young state of winged forms. Hagen kept a large colony of
Atropos divinatoria for some years in confinement, so that he saw
numerous generations as well as many specimens. He found the
apterous condition quite constant.

The association of ocelli with wings is nearly constant in Psocidae. The

genus Clothilla—allied to Atropos—possesses very rudimentary wings but
no ocelli. Hagen, however, found[315] that in a certain locality no less than
12 per cent of the individuals of this species were provided with ocelli,—a
most extraordinary variation.
In some of these apterous forms there is found on each side of the
prothorax a tubercular prominence which, according to Hagen, can be
considered only as the rudiment of a wing that never develops. Though
no existing Insect is known to possess rudimentary wings on the
prothorax, we have previously mentioned (p. 344) that in the
Carboniferous epoch appendages of the nature alluded to were not very
rare.

A genus of living forms—Hyperetes—in which the three thoracic

segments are well developed, but in which there are no alar appendages
or rudiments, is considered by Hagen to be more primitive than the
Psocidae found in amber to which we shall subsequently allude.

The number of described species of Psocidae does not reach two

hundred; we have, however, thirty species or more in Britain.[316] Nietner
observed about the same number in the immediate vicinity of his house in
Ceylon. The isolated and remote Hawaiian group of islands is remarkably
rich in Psocidae. Two thousand is a moderate estimate of the number of
existing species. The largest forms yet discovered belong to the Brazilian
genus Thyrsophorus; they attain, however, a breadth of only about one
inch with the wings fully expanded. The Cuban genus Embidopsocus is
said to be of great interest from its approximation to Embiidae. It is at
present very inadequately known.

One (or more) very minute Insects of this family—Clothilla pulsatoria

according to Hagen, Atropos[317] divinatoria according to some other
authors—is widely known under the name of the death-watch, owing to its
being believed to make a peculiar ticking noise, supposed to be prophetic
of the decease of some individual—a human being we fancy, not a death-
watch. It is difficult to believe that so minute and soft an Insect can
produce a sound audible to human ears, and many entomologists are of
opinion that the sound in question is really produced by a beetle—of the
genus Anobium—which lives in wood, and that as the beetle may be
concealed in a hole, while the Clothilla is seen running about, the sound
is naturally, though erroneously, attributed to the latter. But the rapping of
the Anobium is well known, is produced while the Insect is at large, and is
said to be a different noise from that of the Psocid; evidence too has been
given as to the production of the sound in a workbox when the Psocid
was certainly present, and the most careful search failed to reveal any
beetle.

Fig. 247.—A, Atropos divinatoria; B, Clothilla pulsatoria. (After M‘Lachlan.)

The Rev. W. Derham, who two hundred years ago was Rector of
Upminster, in Essex, and was well known as a distinguished writer and
philosopher, gave an account of the ticking of death-watches to the Royal
Society.[318] This gentleman was a most accurate and minute observer;
he was well acquainted with the ticking of the greater death-watch—
Anobium—which he describes very accurately, as well as the acts
accompanying it, the details he mentions being exactly such as occur at
the present time. He not only heard the ticking of the Psocid or lesser
death-watch, but repeatedly witnessed it. He says: "I am now so used to,
and skilful in the matter as to be able to see, and show them, beating
almost when I please, by having a paper with some of them in it
conveniently placed and imitating their pulsation, which they will readily
answer." He also states that he could only hear them beating when it was
done on paper, and that this death-watch will tick for some hours together
without intermission, with intervals between each beat, so that it much
resembles the ticking of a watch. The act of ticking was accompanied by
rapping the front of the head on the paper, but Mr. Derham could not be
sure that the sound was produced in that manner, because each stroke
was also accompanied by a peculiar shudder, or recoil. After a prolonged
ticking he observed that another individual of the other sex made its
appearance. The species figured by Mr. Derham more resembles a
Hyperetes than it does either of our two known book-lice, Atropos and
Clothilla.
 Fig. 248.—The lesser death-watch of Upminster. (After Derham.) A,
magnified; B, natural size.

Fig. 249.—Sphaeropsocus kunowii. From amber. × 30. (After Hagen.)

Numerous species of Psocidae are preserved in amber; Hagen[319] has

made a careful study, based on a considerable number of specimens, of
about thirteen such species. They belong to no less than nine genera and
five sub-families. Sphaeropsocus is the most remarkable; this Insect has
a well-developed prothorax, as is the case in the wingless Psocids, and a
pair of large wings or tegmina meeting by a straight suture along the
back, as is usual in beetles, though quite unknown in existing Psocidae.
Another species, Amphientomum paradoxum, has the body and
appendages covered with scales like a butterfly or moth; other species,
found in gum-copal or still living, have scales on various parts of the body,
but not to so great an extent as this amber species. The genus
Amphientomum is still represented in Ceylon and elsewhere by living
forms; Packard has figured some of the scales;[320] they appear to be
extremely similar to those of Lepidoptera or Thysanura. The facts
connected with this fauna of amber Psocidae would seem to show that
the family was formerly more extensive and important than it is at present;
we should therefore expect to find numerous fossil forms in strata of date
anterior to that of the amber; but this is not the case, all that is known as
to fossil Psocidae being that Scudder has recently ascribed traces of an
Insect found in the Tertiary rocks of Utah to this family as a distinct genus.

Fam. V. Perlidae.
 Insects of moderate or large size, furnished with four membranous
wings; these are usually complexly reticulate; the hind pair are much
the larger, and have a large anal area of more simple venation, which
becomes plicate when folded. The coxae are small, the legs widely
separated. The larvae are aquatic in habits; the metamorphosis is
slight.

Fig. 250.—Pteronarcys frigida, male. (After Gerstaecker.)

The Perlidae form a small family of Insects unattractive in their general

appearance. The life-history of each individual consists of two abruptly
contrasted portions; the earlier stage being entirely aquatic, the later
aerial. Hence the Perlidae come into the amphibious division of
Neuroptera. The definition we have given above would, except as regards
the texture of the front wings and the aquatic habits of the larvae, apply to
many Insects of the Order Orthoptera. The Phryganeidae, another family
of Neuroptera, have aquatic larvae and wings somewhat similar in form to
those of the Perlidae, but the members of the two families cannot be
confounded, as the Phryganeidae have hairy front wings and large and
contiguous coxae.

The antennae of the Perlidae are long, very flexible, and composed of a
very large number of joints. The parts of the mouth vary a good deal. The
mandibles and maxillae are usually rather small, and all the parts of the
mouth are of feeble consistence or even membranous; the maxillary palpi
are, however, well developed and exserted from the mouth, five-jointed.
The labium is short and but little conspicuous. The mandibles in some
forms are almost membranous, but in other genera they are firmer and
are toothed. The labium is composed of a very large mentum, beyond
which is a large piece, usually undivided, bearing the four terminal lobes;
the three-jointed palpus is seated on the side of the large middle sclerite,
which is no doubt of composite nature. Considerable variety as to the
lower lip prevails. The head is broad and flat; there is an indistinctly-
indicated clypeus, three—more rarely two—ocelli, and on each side an
eye neither very large nor perfect. The prothorax is free, and has a flat,
margined notum. The meso- and the meta-thorax are large, equal
segments. The pro-, meso-, and meta-sternum are large pieces; between
the first and second, and between the second and third there is an
intervening membrane. The metasternum is much prolonged backwards,
and has on each side a peculiar slit; similar orifices exist on the other
sterna (Fig. 254, o). Newport, who has examined them in Pteronarcys,
says that they are blind invaginations of the integument; he calls them the
sternal or furcal orifices.[321] According to this naturalist these very
peculiar openings pass into the body "as strong bone-like tubes, diverging
from the axis to the periphery of the body in the immediate vicinity of
some of the principal tracheae, but that they do not in any way
communicate with them, as they terminate abruptly as caecal structures."
He thinks them analogous with the endo-skeleton of other Insects; a view
which cannot be considered sufficiently established. Laboulbène
states[322] that when Perla parisina is seized and placed on its back, it
does not move, but emits a liquid at the base of the articulation of the
legs. This suggests that it may come from these sternal orifices. The
abdomen consists of ten dorsal plates, the first being short, and of nine
ventral; the dorsal plates are much more ample transversely than the
ventral. Frequently the hind body is terminated by two long, many-jointed
cerci, looking like antennae. The coxae are small, not prominent, and are
directed outwards. The legs are slender, the tibiae often grooved. The
tarsi are three-jointed, terminating in two claws and a more or less distinct
pad. In the genus Isopteryx an auditory organ has been described as
existing in the legs, in a position similar to that of the analogous structures
in Termitidae and Blattidae. The wings when closed repose flat on the
back, and fold and overlap so that only one is seen (Fig. 251); in this state
the costal portion of each front wing is turned downwards, so as to protect
to some extent, the sides of the body.
 Fig. 251.—Perla maxima. (After Pictet.)

Fig. 252.—Perla sp., nymph, showing tracheal gills. Pyrénées orientales.

The early stages are known, but have not been described minutely, and
there appears to be very little information as to the youngest life. All the
species are, when immature, aquatic in their habits; the larvae greatly
resemble the perfect Insects in form, though differing in not possessing
wings and in the ocelli being merely opaque spaces. They have rather
large compound eyes; the future wings are represented by lobe-like
prolongations—varying in length according to age—of the meso- and
meta-notum. In the Nemourae the cerci are absent in the imago though
present in the young. The larvae of Perlidae are carnivorous and are able
to swim well, the legs being provided with abundant swimming hairs; they,
however, as a rule, prefer to walk at the bottom of the pool, or on rocks or
boulders in the water they live in.

One of the most peculiar features of the Perlidae is their respiratory

system. Unfortunately the greatest differences of opinion have prevailed
on various matters in connexion with this subject, and there are several
points about which it is not possible at present to express a decided
opinion.
 Fig. 253.—Tracheal gill and portion of a trachea of Pteronarcys. (After
Newport.)

The larvae have no stigmata; it appears to be generally agreed that there

is in them no means of admitting air to the tracheal system by means of
orifices. Some breathe entirely through the integument, the process being
aided by the accumulation of tracheae at the spots where the breathing
orifices should be, and where the integument is more delicate. Others,
however, possess gills in the form of protruded bunches of filaments,
connected with tracheae in the manner shown in Fig. 253. These
filamentous branchiae occur in numerous species of the family, and are
situate on various parts of the body, but many species are destitute of
them in genera, other members of which possess the filaments. In some
Nemourae instead of bunches of filaments there are tubular projections
on the prothoracic segment; and in Dictyopteryx signata similar structures
occur even in the cephalic region, Hagen stating[323] that there exists a
pair on the submentum and another on the membrane between the head
and the thorax. In the imago state, stigmata are present in the normal
fashion, there being two thoracic and six abdominal pairs. In several
species the filaments persist in the imago, so that in these cases we meet
with the curious condition of the coexistence of branchiae with a well-
developed and functionally active system of spiracles; this is the more
curious because the creatures usually have then nothing to do with the
water, it having been ascertained that in these cases the species live out
of the water as other terrestrial and aerial Insects do. These instances of
persistence of branchiae during the aerial life have been the source of
some perplexity; the condition was shown to exist in Pteronarcys by
Newport, and has since been demonstrated in various other forms.
Newport believed that the imago of Pteronarcys breathes by means of the
gills, although it lives out of the water and possesses spiracles; and he
informs us that Mr. Barnston observed the Insect when on the wing
"constantly dipping on the surface of the water." Hence Newport
concluded that Pteronarcys in the winged state is "an amphibious animal."
That a winged Insect should live in the air and yet breathe by means of
gills would be truly extraordinary, and there can be little doubt that
Newport's idea was erroneous. Hagen[324] was able to examine living
imagos of the species in question. He found that they avoided the water,
and though he placed some individuals therein, yet they did not use the
gills. He also informs us that the branchiae have, during life, a shrivelled
appearance, indicating that they are not functionally active, but are merely
useless organs carried over to the imago from the previous instar, in
which they were truly the means of obtaining air. Hagen also ascertained
that the spiracles of the imago are in a normal state, being adapted for
breathing, even as far back as the seventh abdominal segment.

Fig. 254.—Under side of body of Pteronarcys regalis, imago. (After

Newport.) g, Tracheal gills; o, sternal orifices.

Great difference of opinion has prevailed as to the relations of the

branchiae to the stigmata, it having been contended that the falling off of
some of the branchiae left the stigmatic orifices. The facts appear to be
only consistent with the conclusion that the two are totally independent
organs. This subject has been investigated by Palmén,[325] who finds that
in Perlidae—contrary to what occurs in may-flies—the species are either
entirely destitute of gills, or these organs are persistent throughout life. It
is not to be inferred from this that the gills in the perennibranchiate
Perlidae are as conspicuous as they are in the exceptional Pteronarcys:
for it appears that at the final moult the gills usually become very much
contracted and concealed by the new integument; in some cases they
merely appear as slight prominences in the neighbourhood of the
stigmata.

Pictet, Dufour, Newport, and Imhof[326] have studied the internal anatomy.
The alimentary canal is remarkable for the enormous oesophagus; there
is no distinction between this and the crop. A proventriculus is quite