Policy change to create supportive environments for physical activity and healthy eating : which options are the most realistic for local government?

The objective is to identify and test regulatory options for creating supportive environments for physical activity and healthy eating among local governments in Victoria, Australia. A literature review identified nine potential areas for policy intervention at local government level, including the walking environment and food policy. Discussion documents were drafted which summarized the public health evidence and legal framework for change in each area. Levels of support for particular interventions were identified through semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants from local government. We conducted 11 key informant interviews and found support for policy intervention to create environments supportive of physical activity but little support for policy changes to promote healthy eating. Participants reported lack of relevance and competing priorities as reasons for not supporting particular interventions. Promoting healthy eating environments was not considered a priority for local government above food safety. There is a real opportunity for action to prevent obesity at local government level (e.g. mandate the promotion of healthy eating environments). For local government to have a role in the promotion of healthy food environments, regulatory change and suitable funding are required.

Does government linked companies (GLCs) perform better than non-GLCs? Evidence from Malaysian listed companies

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of an alternative ownership/control structure of corporate governance on firm performance. Specifically, we investigated the governance system of government linked companied (GLCs) in Malaysia. In this paper, we examine governance mechanism and firm performance of Malaysian GLCs and non-GLCs over a 11 year period from 1995 to 2005. We only select a sample of companies which are listed in Main Board. We chose a sample of 210 firms. We used Tobin’s Q which is an indicator of market performance is used as a proxy for company’s performances; meanwhile ROA is used to determine accounting performance. This paper is to determines whether after controlling firm specific characteristics such as corporate governance, agency cost, growth, risk and profitability, GLCs perform better than non-GLCs. Findings highlight that non-GLCs performance is better GLCs in term of corporate governance, and other firm specific characteristics. The relationship between ownership structure and firm performance has been issue of interest among academics, investors and policy makers as one of key issues in understanding the effectiveness of alternative governance systems where government ownership serves as a control mechanism.

The effects of perceived business uncertainty, external consultants and risk management on organisational outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between perceived business uncertainty (PBU), use of external risk management (RM) consultants, formalisation of RM, magnitude of RM methods and perceived organisational outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. Using AMOS 17.0, the paper tests the strength of the direct and indirect effects among the variables and explores the fit of the overall path model.
Findings – The results indicate significant and positive associations exist between the extent of PBU and the level ofRMformalisation, as well as between the level ofRMformalisation and the magnitude of RMmethods adopted. The use of externalRMconsultants is also found to have a significant and positive impact on the magnitude of RM methods adopted. Finally, both the extent of RM formalisation and the magnitude of RM methods adopted are seen to be significantly associated with overall improvement in organisational outcomes.
Research limitations/implications – The study uses perceptual measures of the level of business uncertainty, usage of RM and organisational outcomes. Further, the respondents are members of a management accounting professional body and the views of other managers, such as risk managers, who are also important to the governance process are not incorporated.
Originality/value – This study provides empirical evidence on the impact ofRMdesign and usage on improvements in organisational outcomes. It contributes to the RM literature where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with the traditional management control system literature.

I don't know anyone that has two drinks a day : young people, alcohol and the government of pleasure

Problematic alcohol consumption is a major public health, health education and health promotion issue in Australia and internationally. In an effort to better understand young people's drinking patterns and motivations we investigated the cultural drivers of drinking in 14–24 year-old Australians. We interviewed 60 young people in the state of Victoria aged 20–24 about their drinking biographies. At the time of interviewing, the draft guidelines on low-risk drinking were released by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia, and we asked our participants what they knew about them and if they thought they would affect their drinking patterns. Their responses indicate that pleasure and sociability are central to young people's drinking cultures which is supported by a range of research. However, O’Malley and Valverde claim that pleasure is silenced and/or deployed strategically in neo-liberal governance discourses about drugs and alcohol such as these guidelines which raises questions about the limits of such discourses to affect changes in drinking patterns.

Government regulation to promote healthy food environments : a view from inside state governments

Food policy interventions are an important component of obesity-prevention strategies and can potentially drive positive changes in obesogenic environments. This study sought to identify regulatory interventions targeting the food environment, and barriers/facilitators to their implementation at the Australian state government level. In-depth interviews were conducted with senior representatives from state/territory governments, statutory authorities and non-government organizations (n = 45) to examine participants’ (i) suggestions for regulatory interventions for healthier food environments and (ii) support for pre-selected regulatory interventions derived from a literature review. Data were analysed using thematic and constant comparative analyses. Interventions commonly suggested by participants were regulating unhealthy food marketing; limiting the density of fast food outlets; pricing reforms to decrease fruit/vegetable prices and increase unhealthy food prices; and improved food labelling. The most commonly supported preselected interventions were related to food marketing and service. Primary production and retail sector interventions were least supported. The dominant themes were the need for whole-of-government and collaborative approaches; the influence of the food industry; conflicting policies/agenda; regulatory challenges; the need for evidence of effectiveness; and economic disincentives. While interventions such as public sector healthy food service policies were supported by participants, marketing restrictions and fiscal interventions face substantial barriers including a push for deregulation and private sector opposition.

Interrogating the ethics of literacy intervention in Indigenous schools

Recognising that literacy is fundamental to the educational success of Indigenous students, this essay reviews current literacy intervention programs from a social justice perspective. It reveals the tension between policies and initiatives that have addressed the two key rights of Indigenous people – the right to access mainstream knowledge and language through the provision of empowering education and the right to sustain their own languages and cultures through culturally responsive education. In particular, the essay focuses on the National Accelerated Literacy Program (NALP) – a large-scale initiative supported by the former Liberal and the current Labour government in 2004-2008. A spin-off from NALP has been the formation of the Accelerated Literacy Consultants’ Network that provides professional development sessions in Accelerated Literacy and literacy education more broadly to teachers from Aboriginal Independent Community Schools across Australia. The essay questions the view of justice in the NALP’s theoretical and pedagogical design and its effects on teaching and learning in Aboriginal schools. The paper, then, discusses the primacy of ethics in literacy education in order to make it more hospitable and responsive to cultural-linguistic differences.

Indirect government controls over Australia's social security expenditure : a Foucauldian analysis

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine how the use of indirect government control mechanisms is used as a means of holding government agencies such as job network providers and recipients of social security benefits accountable. The mechanisms of indirect government will be examined using Michel Foucault's discourses on disciplinary power, surveillance and normalisation.

Design/methodology/approach – The mechanisms of indirect government are investigated through a survey questionnaire and focus group interviews. The questionnaire is assessed and analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis with varimax rotation.

Findings – It is found that the rationing and disciplinary mechanisms of the breaching regime, through a process of disciplinary power, surveillance and normalisation, combine to help hold government agencies and recipients of social security benefits accountable, which in turn helps control the level of social security expenditure.

Originality/value – The current study extends our understanding of the functions of indirect government by providing an applied example of how the process of government works indirectly through government agencies and the abundant rules and regulations that underpin such bureaucracies.

CFL bulbs : environmentally friendly and sustainable?

The purpose of this paper is to document the positive and negative characteristics of using compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and to raise awareness and debate about the potential negative health effects resulting from prolonged exposure to CFLs. This is a theoretical paper and, primarily, incorporates the literature and the author’s experiences of CFLs. Governmental and non-governmental measures in the area of recycling and disposal of CFLs are also presented. This is a relatively new area of research; hence, very limited academic literature is currently available. Discussion of the issue of increased usage of CFLs is timely following heightened debate on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Increased debate amongst the policy and decision-makers will assist the public to make an informed decision. It is also anticipated that this debate will put pressure on the manufacturers of all types of bulbs, and government and non-governmental agencies to enhance their own and community initiatives to recycle and/or safely dispose of CFLs. No other similar review of the advantages and weaknesses of using CFLs has been undertaken that encourages the reader and potential users of CFLs to reflect on their choices.

Government under-planning for a student snowball : Go8

The government’s plans for higher education system will barely cope with growing demographics, let alone growing participation rates.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and their role in sustainable planning : a case study from a Local Government Area (LGA) in Australia

A case study is used to demonstrate the application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to inform sustainable development. The suitability of the landscape to support tourism accommodation in a Local Government Area (LGA) is modelled by integrating existing datasets, including conservation areas, residential zones, major roads and known locations of tourism operators into a logistic regression framework. By using a data-driven approach an indication of the relative importance of each explanatory variable can be accounted for, therefore informing planners of the importance of different assets. In a region where tourism is reliant upon natural features, this use of information systems in conjunction with quantitative statistical modelling can value-add to existing datasets. The provision of this kind of knowledge is important as it would otherwise not factor into the decision-making process had the datasets been considered independently of each other – a concept that applies to both the public and private sectors.

Engaging with Asia : the Chifley government and the New Delhi conferences of 1947 and 1949

This article is a study of the Chifley government's foreign policy towards Asia, in particular India and Indonesia, as evidenced by Australia's attendance at the 1947 Asian Relations Conference and the 1949 New Delhi Conference on the Indonesian-Dutch conflict. Australia's presence at these two conferences provides an ideal opportunity to examine the Chifley government's response to the momentous changes that occurred in post-war Asia as a result of the dismantling of the European colonial world order. Through detailed examination of the archival material and contemporary accounts generated from Australia's involvement in the New Delhi conferences, this article will argue that despite significant political constraints, the Chifley government did adopt a distinctive and innovative policy towards the emergent nations of Asia in the immediate post-war years.