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Selected AbstractsTrends in morphine prescriptions, illicit morphine use and associated harms among regular injecting drug users in AustraliaDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 5 2006LOUISA DEGENHARDT Abstract This paper examines population trends in morphine prescriptions in Australia, and contrasts them with findings from annual surveys with regular injecting drug users (IDU). Data on morphine prescriptions from 1995 to 2003 were obtained from the Drug Monitoring System (DRUMS) run by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Data collected from regular IDU as part of the Australian Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) were analysed (2001,2004). The rate of morphine prescription per person aged 15,54 years increased by 89% across Australia between 1995 and 2003 (from 46.3 to 85.9 mg per person). Almost half (46%) of IDU surveyed in 2004 reported illicit morphine use, with the highest rates in jurisdictions where heroin was less available. Recent morphine injectors were significantly more likely to be male, unemployed, out of treatment and homeless in comparison to IDU who had not injected morphine. They were also more likely to have injected other pharmaceutical drugs and to report injection related problems. Among those who had injected morphine recently, the most commonly reported injecting harms were morphine dependence (38%), difficulty finding veins into which to inject (36%) and scarring or bruising (27%). Morphine use and injection is a common practice among regular IDU in Australia. In some cases, morphine may be a substitute for illicit heroin; in others, it may be being used to treat heroin dependence where other pharmacotherapies, such as methadone and buprenorphine, are perceived as being unavailable or undesirable by IDU. Morphine injection appears to be associated with polydrug use, and with it, a range of problems related to drug injection. Further research is required to monitor and reduce morphine diversion and related harms by such polydrug injectors. [source] Changes in utilisation of hormone replacement therapy in Australia following publication of the findings of the Women's Health Initiative,,§PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 9 2008Penelope Main BSc (Hons) MA MMedSc (Clin Epi) Abstract Purpose To examine the impact of publication of the findings of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) on the utilisation of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in Australia with particular reference to the influence that media may have had on prescriber and consumer behaviour. Methods Retrospective data from the Australian Government Department of Health, Ageing DUSC Database and media hits from Factiva were reviewed to obtain prescription numbers, total cost and cost to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme and number of media hits from the year before publication of the combined HRT arm of the WHI. Results Prescribing of HRT products decreased significantly immediately following publication of the combined HRT arm of the WHI and continued to decline at a slower rate following publication of the memory and oestrogen only arms of the study. Conclusions These results represent a more accurate national estimate of the change in HRT use in Australian women relative to previous findings from surveys carried out in Australia. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] ASERNIP-S: INTERNATIONAL TREND SETTINGANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 10 2008Guy Maddern The Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures , Surgical (ASERNIP-S) came into being 10 years ago to provide health technology assessments specifically tailored towards new surgical techniques and technologies. It was and remains the only organisation in the world to focus on this area of research. Most funding has been provided by the Australian Government Department of Health, and assessments have helped inform the introduction of new surgical techniques into Australia. ASERNIP-S is a project of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The ASERNIP-S program employs a diverse range of methods including systematic reviews, technology overviews, assessments of new and emerging surgical technologies identified by horizon scanning, and audit. Support and guidance for the program is provided by Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. ASERNIP-S works closely with consumers to produce health technology assessments and audits, as well as consumer information to keep patients fully informed of research. Since its inception, the ASERNIP-S program has developed a strong international profile through the production of over 60 reports on evidence-based surgery, surgical technologies and audit. The work undertaken by ASERNIP-S has evolved from assessments of the safety and efficacy of procedures to include guidance on policies and surgical training programs. ASERNIP-S needs to secure funding so that it can continue to play an integral role in the improvement of quality of care both in Australia and internationally. [source] Control of arbovirus infections by a coordinated response: West Nile Virus in England and WalesFEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Dilys Morgan Abstract Although there is no recognized transmission of human arboviral infections in the UK, concerns about the possible spread of West Nile virus (WNV) have precipitated coordinated activities around both surveillance and response. The Department of Health has chaired a UK WNV task force since the end of 2000. This is a multidisciplinary group of senior representatives from Agencies and Government Departments involved in human and animal health, entomology and academic departments. Activities include surveillance for WNV infections in humans, and in dead birds, mosquitoes and horses. All have been negative for WNV. A WNV contingency plan was produced in 2004, and this could be used as a generic plan for an effective and coordinated response in the event of the emergence of a new vector-borne zoonotic infection. [source] Emigration from China: A Sending Country PerspectiveINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2003Xiang Biao This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the policies pursued by the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding the emigration of Chinese nationals. Most of the available literature on migration management has focused on receiving countries. With a few exceptions, little attention has been directed at migration management policies pursued in countries of origin. In the case of the PRC, policies regarding overseas Chinese have been fairly well documented and researched, but very little has been written about how the Chinese authorities manage ongoing emigration flows. This gap becomes particularly salient as the importance of the "partnership with the countries of origin" in devising migration policies is being increasingly acknowledged by receiving countries in Europe (Commission of the European Communities, 2000). Over the last 20 years, there have been significant changes in the Chinese Government's policies and perspectives on emigration. But, just like most other governments, the Chinese authorities do not have a single blanket policy covering all categories of emigrants. Emigration is normally managed on a case-by-case basis and the Government's attitude toward the same type of emigration may vary depending on different cases and circumstances. Because of this, this article examines China's major emigration-related policy spheres one by one. Specifically, six issues will be discussed: (1) exit control; (2) diaspora policy; (3) student migration; (4) labour export; (5) regulations on emigration agencies and, finally (6) the Government's response to human smuggling. This article shows both the coherence and the fragmentation in China's policies toward emigration. The coherence is due to the fact that all the policies are inherently linked to China's overall economic and social development strategy. The emigration management regime is sometimes fragmented partly because emigration consists of different streams and is handled by different Government departments, partly because some emigration issues (such as regulations on emigration agents) are very new for the Chinese Government and the authorities are still exploring them. Overall, the Chinese authorities increasingly see emigration as a means to enhance China's integration to the world and are keen to avoid conflicts with the international community over migration issues. At the same time, China's emigration policies need to be more balanced, in particular, the emigration of unskilled labour should be given more priority. [source] Eclecticism in health services for developmental disordersJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 3 2000M McDowell Abstract: The term ,eclectic', as applied to health care for children with developmental disorders, portrays an individualized, adaptive service response to local constraints and pressures. While this may appear appropriate for the local setting, the end result is a broad diversity of health care approaches. This paper discusses three separate processes that interact at a local level, increasing the likelihood of an eclectic local model of health care for this population of children. The first process draws from the direct clinical work. Variable training, knowledge and skills among health care providers, in combination with differing beliefs around the nature of the problems and their management leads to health care which directly reflects the attributes of the local clinicians. A separate, second process fuelling variability is the differing models of departmental responsibility across Australia , which Government departments fund which aspect of care for children with disabilities. The final process relates to funding streams for health care. State public health, federal Medicare and private insurance all support health services for children with disabilities, with the financial incentives (budgets compared to fee-for-service) driving a divergence of practice. This paper concludes that the external political, administrative and financial frameworks within which health care is constructed will continue to promote clinical eclecticism to a degree that would probably be considered unacceptable in other areas of child health care. The solution can only arise from within the clinical work itself, with greater clarity of understanding around the nature of the disorders, the outcomes for which health care takes responsibility, and an increasing focus on an evidence based set of approaches towards achieving these. [source] "All Gone Now": The Material, Discursive and Political Erasure of Bank and Building Society Branches in BritainANTIPODE, Issue 1 2008Shaun French Abstract:, This paper examines an apparent anomaly that lies at the heart of processes of financial exclusion within Britain. Given that the branch networks of banks and building societies have shrunk in size by about one-third since 1989, a period during which the Government has launched a wide-ranging set of policies to tackle financial exclusion, why is it that the issue of branch closure has been neutralised as a political issue? After providing evidence to show the extent of branch closure in Britain and illustrating the ways in which geographical research in particular has drawn attention to the nature of this problem, we look at the way the issue of physical access to financial services has been discursively and politically marginalised. We undertake a detailed history of public policy in the area, and the ways in which research funded by industry bodies and Government departments has been used and framed to build a pro-market, neoliberal policy programme that constructs branch closures as natural and inevitable. [source] A new department, a new minister , and a new select committeeASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 4 2009Article first published online: 20 JUL 200 Science and technology is now part of the newly created government Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, with Lord Mandelson in overall charge. What will this mean for UK science? [source] The voice of detainees in a high security setting on services for people with personality disorderCRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 4 2002Sue Ryan Background British government Home and Health Departments have been consulting widely about service development for people with ,dangerous severe personality disorder' (DSPD). There has, however, been no consultation with service users, nor is there any user view literature in this area. Methods All people detained in one high security hospital under the legal classification of psychopathic disorder were eligible but those on the admission or intensive care wards were not approached. Views of service were elicited using a purpose designed semi-structured interview. The principal researcher was independent of all clinical teams. Confidentiality about patients' views was assured. Aims To establish views on services from one subgroup of people nominated by the government department as having ,DSPD'. Results Sixty-one of 89 agreed to interview. With security a given, about half expressed a preference for a high security hospital setting, 20% prison and 25% elsewhere, generally medium secure hospitals. Participants most valued caring, understanding and ,experience' among staff. An ideal service was considered to be one within small, domestic living units, providing group and individual therapies. Some found living with people with mental illness difficult, but some specified not wanting segregated units. Views were affected by gender and comorbidity. Conclusions As the sample were all in hospital, the emphasis on treatment may reflect a placement bias. All but five participants, however, had had experience of both health and criminal justice services, so were well placed to talk with authority about preferences. Copyright © 2002 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Improving transfer of mental health care for rural and remote consumers in South AustraliaHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 2 2009Judy Taylor BA Dip Soc Wk MSW PhD Abstract In Australia, it is commonplace for tertiary mental health care to be provided in large regional centres or metropolitan cities. Rural and remote consumers must be transferred long distances, and this inevitably results in difficulties with the integration of their care between primary and tertiary settings. Because of the need to address these issues, and improve the transfer process, a research project was commissioned by a national government department to be conducted in South Australia. The aim of the project was to document the experiences of mental health consumers travelling from the country to the city for acute care and to make policy recommendations to improve transitions of care. Six purposively sampled case studies were conducted collecting data through semistructured interviews with consumers, country professional and occupational groups and tertiary providers. Data were analysed to produce themes for consumers, and country and tertiary mental healthcare providers. The study found that consumers saw transfer to the city for mental health care as beneficial in spite of the challenges of being transferred over long distances, while being very unwell, and of being separated from family and friends. Country care providers noted that the disjointed nature of the mental health system caused problems with key aspects of transfer of care including transport and information flow, and achieving integration between the primary and tertiary settings. Improving transfer of care involves overcoming the systemic barriers to integration and moving to a primary care-led model of care. The distance consultation and liaison model provided by the Rural and Remote Mental Health Services, the major tertiary provider of services for country consumers, uses a primary care-led approach and was highly regarded by research participants. Extending the use of this model to other primary mental healthcare providers and tertiary facilities will improve transfer of care. [source] Trade and associated groups in the English tourism policy arenaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 6 2001Duncan Tyler Abstract The role and influence of trade and associated groups in England's tourism policy environment is of increasing importance given recent changes in the consultative processes undertaken by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (the government department sponsoring the tourism industry in Parliament). Yet researchers working within the realm of tourism studies have paid little attention to their characteristics, objectives and tactics. This article, therefore, sets out to address these issues by drawing on the results of phase one of a two-phase research project into the influence of trade and associated groups on policy development. The article reports the findings of a survey into the objectives and tactics used by the groups in policy communications and links this to structural changes in the landscape of the tourism policy. In doing this it suggests how certain relationships have developed between government and groups, how groups collaborate on policy issues and how this may have influenced the direction of tourism policy in the England. Using the results of this research and an analysis of government policy related announcements over the past two years we hypothesise on how successful the groups have been to data, and proposes areas for future research. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Big Windows and Little Windows: Implementation in the ,Congested State'PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2004Mark Exworthy This paper argues for the need to re-assess models of policy implementation in the ,congested state'. This re-appraisal focuses on two main directions. The first involves locating implementation in the context of wider models of the policy process. We fuse three models, those of Kingdon, Wolman, and Challis et al., to form a new ,policy streams' approach. The second examines implementation in multi-level governance. In the UK and elsewhere, much of the focus of traditional implementation studies has been on the link between one central government department and a local agency. However, this vertical (central-local) dimension fails to give sufficient stress to the other horizontal dimensions of ,central-central' and ,local-local'. Paraphrasing Kingdon's terms, implementation models also need to incorporate the ,little windows' at local level as well as the ,big' windows at national level. Using evidence relating to the implementation of UK policy towards health inequalities, this paper argues successful implementation is more likely when the three policy streams are linked across the three dimensions. The model is thought to be applicable to other areas of the public sectors and complex issues facing all governments. [source] An estimate of the number of inmate separations from Australian prisons 2000/01 and 2005/06AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 3 2010Kristy A. Martire Abstract Objective: To estimate the annual number of inmate separations from correctional centres in Australia in 2000/01 and 2005/06. Methods: Data on separations were obtained from the websites of each State and Territory government department responsible for prisons. Data on state and national prison population were obtained from the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Three different methods of estimation (multiplier, multiplier adjusted for remand separations and back-projection) were applied to State, Territory and national data on prison population and separations in Australia. Results: The median estimate (to the nearest thousand) of the number of inmate separations was 42,000 in 2000/01 and 44,000 in 2005/06 Conclusions: While the precise figures ought to be interpreted with some caution, our estimates suggest that approximately 44,500 separations from prison occurred in Australia in 2005/06. Each of these separation episodes is accompanied by an elevated risk of mortality; therefore, these figures represent a substantial public health concern. [source] Exploiting patient labour at Kew Cottages, Australia, 1887,1950BRITISH JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2010Lee-Ann Monk Accessible summary ,,This article looks at the work carried out by people with learning disabilities who lived in the Kew Cottages in Australia. ,,It argues that these people were treated unfairly because they were not paid for the work they did, even though that work was valuable and important. ,,Even though they were being treated unfairly, some people at the Cottages may have chosen to work because it gave them a way to spend their time and because people who worked had more freedom and were better treated. Summary This article examines the exploitation of patient labour at Kew Cottages, Australia's first purpose-built state institution for people with learning disabilities. Analysing historical evidence for the period 1887,1950 shows that unpaid patient labour contributed significantly to the economy of the Cottages and so to the government department of which they were a part. It also argues that government failure to provide adequately for patient needs and to rectify unsafe working conditions further exploited working patients. The final section of the article examines why some patient-labourers may have chosen to work, arguing that the restrictive, materially impoverished and relatively isolated social world in which they found themselves were an important influence on their decisions to do so. [source] Not Just Parliamentary ,Cowboys and Indians': Ministerial Responsibility and Bureaucratic DriftGOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2000Christopher Kam A strict interpretation of the doctrine of individual ministerial responsibility requires that the minister alone bear public responsibility for her department's actions. Critics charge that it is not sensible to hold a mminister solel responsible for departmental errors when government departments are so large and complex, and senior bureaucrats so powerful in their own right; senior bureaucrats should be made directly accountable to Parliament. The paper uses a game theoretic model to show that this criticism is misguided. To the extent that politicians more effectively police the bureaucracy when they are governed by a doctrine of ministerial responsibility than when they are not, the doctrine strengthens accountability. Much of the doctrine's force comes from the threat of ministerial resignation, but the opportunities that the doctrine creates for opposition parties to embarrass the government also contribute to its efficacy. [source] Banishing Bureaucracy or Hatching a Hybrid?GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2000The CanadianFood Inspection Agency, the Politics of Reinventing Government The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is a means to overcoming long-standing bureaucratic politics while attaining some major policy ends.Contrary to some of the new public management bravado of transforming the public sector, the CFIA is not a bureaucratic revolution in reshaping the Canadian State. Changes in scientific staffing, funding, and inspection have been more incremental than fundamental. Moreover, the CFIA is something less than the special and separate operating agency models discussed in the alternative service delivery literature in terms of autonomy and market orientation, but something more autonomous and entrepreneurial than traditional government departments. These organizational and managerial reforms are modest extensions providing a means for achieving economies and enhanced effectiveness in carrying out the mandate of safety, consumer protection, and market access for Canadian food, animal, plant, and forestry products. [source] Development of a historical ice database for the study of climate change in CanadaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 18 2002Frédéric Lenormand Abstract The Canadian government has been compiling various observations on freshwater and coastal sea ice conditions for many years. However, the records are not easily accessible and are dispersed within different government departments. Given this, a major effort was undertaken in order to gather all available observations into a common database,the Canadian Ice Database (CID). This database will respond to the needs for climate monitoring in Canada, the validation and improvement of numerical ice models and the development of new remote-sensing methods. Indeed, several studies have shown that freshwater ice and sea ice are good proxy indicators of climate variability and change. The first version of CID contains in situ observations from 757 sites distributed across Canada, which were originally kept on digital or paper records at the Meteorological Service of Canada Headquarters and the Canadian Ice Service (CIS). The CID holds 63 546 records covering the period from ice season 1822,23 to 2000,01. An analysis of the database allows one to trace the temporal evolution of the ice networks. The freeze-up/break-up network of 2000,01 only represents 4% of what it was in 1985,86. A drastic decline of the ice thickness and the snow on ice network is also observable. In 1997,98, it represented only 10% of the network that existed in 1984,85. The major budget cuts in Canadian government agencies during the late 1980s and the 1990s offer the most plausible explanation for the drastic decline in the ice observation networks. Weekly ice coverage determination on large lakes from satellite imagery by the CIS and the national volunteer ice monitoring program, IceWatch, may provide a means of reviving, at least, the freeze-up/break-up network. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Pathways of Change: Organizations in TransitionPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2006Ljiljana Erakovic This article discusses and illustrates organizational changes as initiated by ownership transition. It develops and elaborates three different pathways that organizations might follow through the process of transformation from government departments to state-owned enterprises, and then to privately-owned companies: the incremental, radical and reductive pathways. The research reported here is based on 11 case studies of New Zealand privatized companies. The pathway approach develops and extends existing models of transitional organizational trajectories, emphasizing the importance of antecedent conditions of organizational development, current environmental patterns and the strategic choices of the government and new owners. [source] Rapid knowledge: ,Bridging research and policy' at the Overseas Development Institute,PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2009Diane Stone Abstract Numerous organizations advocate the need to ,bridge research and policy'. Philanthropic foundations, national social science funding regimes and international organizations have sought to improve knowledge utilization. Similarly, research consumers such as NGOs and government departments complain of research irrelevance for policy purposes. The concern of this article is with ,evidence informed policy' within the field of international development in which the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a London-based think tank, forms the case study. Most think tanks are driven by the need to influence immediate political agendas but ODI has also developed organizational strategies of policy entrepreneurship that extend to longer term influence through creating human capital, building networks and engaging policy communities. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The journey of Indian GLP programme,looking back and forwardQUALITY ASSURANCE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009V. Amalan Stanley Abstract The Indian GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) compliance monitoring programme has successfully brought the task of implementing the programme to the foreground where full OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) membership is about to happen. It has been a long journey, more than five years for the programme to arrive at this juncture, succeeding through sheer commitment and will of the Science and Technology initiatives under which the programme has been implemented. Considering the spontaneous and natural challenges that are bound to make the effort of implementing the GLP compliance programme tougher for any country, the progress made by the Indian GLP programme can be considered very rapid. Though the dawn of full OECD membership for the Indian GLP programme is imminent the paper deals with the details of the journey it has traveled so far and the challenges ahead, commending the commitment of the efforts of the GLP MA (Monitoring Authority) as well as the preparedness of the test facilities. This paper discusses the GLP policy aspects that favoured the growth of the programme among non-member adherents, such as the allowance for getting GLP certification by GLP MA abroad. It also deals with the challenge of harmonizing the policies of the internal agencies that have direct influence on the implementation of the GLP programme, other than legalizing the GLP aspects as there are various government departments in India dealing with the regulatory aspects of specific drug products for human use or that are of chemical in origin. There are data requirements made mandatory by these institutions on pre-clinical or non-clinical safety evaluation of those products, which invariably necessitate studies conducted in compliance with the principles of GLP. The paper concludes with the emphasis that there is a primary need for harmony as well as legal or judicial underpinnings under the umbrella of a national GLP Monitoring Authority, a gray area to be essentially tackled with foresight, to earn credibility on the international front. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A collaborative approach to the environmental assessment process prior to oil exploration activities offshore the Falkland IslandsAQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 1 2002Liz Hopkins Abstract 1.Operating Companies awarded acreage in the Falkland Islands First Offshore Licensing Round began exploration for oil and gas in 1996. Appropriate environmental management is an important aspect of exploration activities in any new frontier area and the Falklands Islands were no exception. Operators with drilling commitments established the Falklands Operators Sharing Agreement (FOSA), which included an Environmental Workgroup (EWG) to take responsibility for the environmental issues associated with exploration activities. 2.The EWG was established early in the exploration programme and commissioned a number of specific environmental studies relating to the offshore environment of the Islands. The data made available by this research provided a valuable input to the assessment of potential environmental impacts from the planned exploration activities. By undertaking environmental impact assessments prior to exploration activities FOSA were able to identify and adopt operational and management controls to ensure potential environmental impacts were, where possible, minimized or avoided. 3.The EWG also provided the main point of contact with the regulators on environmental matters and through the Falkland Islands Exploration & Production Environmental Forum facilitated consultation with government departments such as Fisheries, and other stakeholders such as Falklands Conservation. 4.The co-operative approach taken by the operators with regard to the environmental management of the exploration activities offshore the Falkland Islands is considered to have been very successful. The most obvious benefits were through the shared resources resulting in financial savings, however, other benefits have included, avoiding duplication of effort, the promoting of ,working togetherness' and a reduced burden on consultees. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Undermining State Capacity: Vertical and Horizontal Diffusions of Fiscal Power in ChinaASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 3 2009Jing Vivian Zhan Since the late 1970s, China's fiscal system has facilitated the initiation and implementation of economic reforms and greatly contributed to China's remarkable economic achievements. However, weaknesses of the fiscal system have been exposed that have aroused concerns about the weakening of state capacity. While many have discussed the loss of central fiscal control over localities under decentralization and its negative consequences, not enough attention has been paid to another major problem: the diffusion of fiscal power to nonfiscal government departments. In this article, I argue that the existence of the extra-budgetary system has granted ad hoc taxation power to nonfiscal departments and led to the mismanagement of fiscal revenue. Compared with the vertical diffusion of fiscal power, i.e., the devolution of fiscal authority from central to lower-level governments, the horizontal diffusion of fiscal power is more difficult to control and more detrimental to the institutionalization of China's fiscal system. [source] From hypothetical scenario to tragic reality: A salutary lesson in risk communication and the Victorian 2009 bushfiresAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2010Robin Burns Abstract Objective: To investigate the ways that the risk of a bushfire emergency and communication strategies are perceived by different community segments. Methods: A brief questionnaire preceded focus group discussion of a bushfire scenario with four communications from different sources. Groups were recruited to represent different community segments within a bushfire-prone peri-urban Shire in Victoria. Results: Four groups (28 participants) were recruited. Bushfire experience was highest in the over 40-year-olds, who would use a variety of information sources, preferred to receive information from trusted local sources, such as emergency services and the council, and were more likely to be a member of a local organisation than the under 40s. Younger people used television, local papers, and friends, family and neighbours as information sources. Young parents felt disempowered through lack of local knowledge, and trusted government departments less than older residents. All wanted clear, current, specific local information about ground conditions and actions to be taken during a fire outbreak. Conclusions/implications: Knowledge of and preparedness for bushfire is unequally spread throughout a bushfire community. There is a need in public health risk and emergency situations to focus on community development, information and consultation. [source] A workforce survey of health promotion education and training needs in the State of VictoriaAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2000HAL SWERISSEN Objective: This study investigates the education and training needs of health professionals and factors affecting participation in education and training. Results: Health promotion professionals were involved in the widest variety of health promotion activities, including more evaluation, research and planning than GPs and other health professionals who were involved in more client,focussed activities. Professionals' preference for training content reflected the type of activities in which they were most frequently involved. Practical courses, of short duration, delivered by experienced peers or health promotion experts were preferred over university and TAFE courses. Professionals in rural and provincial locations require both greater access to information on training and conveniently located training. More organisational support, funding and time release would encourage the training of professionals in government departments, community health centres and public hospitals. Conclusions: To be most effective, training must be tailored to suit the specific needs of different professionals involved in health promotion and take into consideration how factors, such as financial incentives and time release, influence participation across different settings and locations. Implications: Further development of the health promotion workforce will require recognition of its professional diversity and a more responsive and organised approach to education and training programs. [source] Public Sector Corporate Governance Disclosures: An Examination of Annual Reporting Practices in QueenslandAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2000Christine Ryan In the public sector, corporate governance is an expression that is yet to be explicitly defined. This paper examines the existing public sector literature in order to derive a set of broad principles of corporate governance in the public sector. These principles are then applied through a content analysis of corporate governance disclosures in a group of government-owned corporations, state government departments, local governments and statutory bodies. The results indicate the set of principles derived is generally applicable to various forms of public entities. However, due to a lack of an established public sector corporate governance framework, the disclosure of corporate governance is piecemeal. Government-owned corporations achieved better disclosure practices in most principles than other public sector bodies. The paper aims to stimulate debate on public sector corporate governance and provides a basis for a more extensive survey on corporate governance disclosures. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||