Resolving patients' complaints about hospitals: Responsive regulation by health ombudsmen. Ombudsmen help ensure integrity and accountability in societal institutions. This study of patients' complaints about hospitals to health ombudsmen in two states, and the responses of hospitals, will produce evidence on strategies for making hospitals more responsive to the public and more accountable for the quality of their care. Australia was a world leader in establishing health ombudsmen and this stud ....Resolving patients' complaints about hospitals: Responsive regulation by health ombudsmen. Ombudsmen help ensure integrity and accountability in societal institutions. This study of patients' complaints about hospitals to health ombudsmen in two states, and the responses of hospitals, will produce evidence on strategies for making hospitals more responsive to the public and more accountable for the quality of their care. Australia was a world leader in establishing health ombudsmen and this study will explore their impact upon the hospital system. Evidence-based strategies are needed to improve the accountability of service providers and regulators. Social and economic benefits flow from empowering patients and from improving hospital performance.Read moreRead less
Political party financing and democratic consolidation in Indonesia. As Australia's vast neighbour to the north, Indonesia, is of critical importance to Australian national interests. Particularly essential in this regard is the stability of Indonesia's young democracy, which is increasingly threatened by the widespread perception that party politics are contaminated by corrupt, greedy and self-centred politicians. This sentiment is largely fuelled by complaints about questionable fundraising pr ....Political party financing and democratic consolidation in Indonesia. As Australia's vast neighbour to the north, Indonesia, is of critical importance to Australian national interests. Particularly essential in this regard is the stability of Indonesia's young democracy, which is increasingly threatened by the widespread perception that party politics are contaminated by corrupt, greedy and self-centred politicians. This sentiment is largely fuelled by complaints about questionable fundraising practices of political parties. Accordingly, this study will be of great interest to Australian policy-makers, aid officials and businesses that wish to address the deficiencies in Indonesia's political system through political and economic cooperation programs.Read moreRead less
The organised interest system in Australian public policy: Size, focus, impact and transformation. Organised interest systems that seek to influence public policy-making are undergoing rapid transformation. Some researchers focus on the post-war professionalisation of advocacy; others suggest that the internet is positively (re)shaping the structure of such systems and their democratic capacities. This project adjudicates on such accounts through exploring the size and composition, through time, ....The organised interest system in Australian public policy: Size, focus, impact and transformation. Organised interest systems that seek to influence public policy-making are undergoing rapid transformation. Some researchers focus on the post-war professionalisation of advocacy; others suggest that the internet is positively (re)shaping the structure of such systems and their democratic capacities. This project adjudicates on such accounts through exploring the size and composition, through time, of the Australian system of organised interests. Using innovative methodologies, it assesses the presence and prominence of particular interests in legislative, administrative, print-media and ‘on-line’ arenas. Through a theoretically original, national case study, it will contribute to international scholarship in this important area. Read moreRead less
Public Policy and Immigrant Settlement in Australia. The proposed research will assess the relative importance of labour market conditions, income-support policy, and immigrant selection criteria in facilitating the settlement of recent immigrants in Australia. The project will be the first major academic study to make use of the complete data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia to compare two cohorts of recent immigrants who arrived under different policy settings and econom ....Public Policy and Immigrant Settlement in Australia. The proposed research will assess the relative importance of labour market conditions, income-support policy, and immigrant selection criteria in facilitating the settlement of recent immigrants in Australia. The project will be the first major academic study to make use of the complete data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia to compare two cohorts of recent immigrants who arrived under different policy settings and economic conditions and whose initial settlement outcomes varied dramatically. The results will advance our understanding of how immigrants adjust to Australia and will be useful for future policy development.
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Resourcing Public Law Enforcement Agencies in the 21st Century; Coercion, Sale and Gift. This project will analyse three basic means of enhancing the resources of public law enforcement agencies: circumstances wherein police command cooperation from private institutions; those where police buy and sell services; and those where police are the beneficiaries of private sponsorship. The potentials and limits of these three forms of exchange will be studied in each Australian State and Territory, in ....Resourcing Public Law Enforcement Agencies in the 21st Century; Coercion, Sale and Gift. This project will analyse three basic means of enhancing the resources of public law enforcement agencies: circumstances wherein police command cooperation from private institutions; those where police buy and sell services; and those where police are the beneficiaries of private sponsorship. The potentials and limits of these three forms of exchange will be studied in each Australian State and Territory, in light of global developments. The project will aim to assist governments in coping with the growing demand for police services in a climate of enduring fiscal restraint. Products will include books, articles, workshops and a major conference.Read moreRead less
Community rights in an age of footloose capital: mining in decentralised Indonesia. Indonesia is in the midst of a mining boom. In the islands closest to Australia, mining holds out the promise to eradicate poverty. Changed political and legal frameworks have led to increased foreign investment but created new challenges for local populations struggling to assert their rights, maximise benefit and minimise harm.
Trade policy: maximising benefits for nutrition, food security, human health, and the economy. Depending on how it is done, trade can be good or bad for peoples' health and social well-being. This study will provide evidence to support the development of trade policy which combines economic as well as social and health goals. This will help improve global food security and human health, reduce poverty and support good international relations.
Intelligence and national security: ethics, efficacy and accountability. This project aims to generate an ethically informed set of practice and policy guidelines for viable security intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data by liberal democracies. In the context of global terrorism and the resurgence of technologically sophisticated authoritarian states, effective intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data is crucial for the national security of liberal democratic sta ....Intelligence and national security: ethics, efficacy and accountability. This project aims to generate an ethically informed set of practice and policy guidelines for viable security intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data by liberal democracies. In the context of global terrorism and the resurgence of technologically sophisticated authoritarian states, effective intelligence collection and analysis of electronic data is crucial for the national security of liberal democratic states. Yet intelligence agencies in Australia, United States, European Union and so on, are not only under pressure to perform, but must also meet a variety of ethical challenges, notably privacy constraints and democratic accountability. This project will contribute to Australia's national security policy making environment, and to privacy and broader human rights debates, by providing an evidenced based, ethically informed set of practice and policy guidelines for viable national security intelligence practice in liberal democracies.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Antipodean 'Fair Go'. There is bipartisan support for the 'fair go' in Australia and New Zealand, but what does the fair go actually mean? This project aims to generate new knowledge about the role of the fair go in political debate and policy making. It will examine the values that have been historically connected to the fair go. It will assess how the public and politicians currently understand the fair go and will investigate how the fair go has influenced public policies. E ....Understanding the Antipodean 'Fair Go'. There is bipartisan support for the 'fair go' in Australia and New Zealand, but what does the fair go actually mean? This project aims to generate new knowledge about the role of the fair go in political debate and policy making. It will examine the values that have been historically connected to the fair go. It will assess how the public and politicians currently understand the fair go and will investigate how the fair go has influenced public policies. Expected outcomes include the first systematic analysis of one of the most pervasive and enduring social and political ideas in Australia and New Zealand. This will give policymakers a better understanding of citizens’ values and will build knowledge about how values shape public policies.Read moreRead less
Understanding Land Use Conflict in Rural Australia: A Values Analytic Approach. This project will analyse rural land use conflicts in Australia in terms of sets of values, focussing on if and how one set, agrarianism, centred on belief in the primacy of agriculture, has changed with the ‘encroachment’ of activities such as mining, wind power generation and wildlife conservation into rural spaces. This study, based on a survey and content analyses, will be the most comprehensive study of agrarian ....Understanding Land Use Conflict in Rural Australia: A Values Analytic Approach. This project will analyse rural land use conflicts in Australia in terms of sets of values, focussing on if and how one set, agrarianism, centred on belief in the primacy of agriculture, has changed with the ‘encroachment’ of activities such as mining, wind power generation and wildlife conservation into rural spaces. This study, based on a survey and content analyses, will be the most comprehensive study of agrarianism in Australia and internationally innovative in considering so many other land uses and their associated social values. Outcomes will include attitudes data and conceptual frameworks that will help policy-makers and stakeholders understand and manage land use conflicts. Read moreRead less