Opportunities and challenges in developing a whole-of-government national food and nutrition policy: lessons from Australia's National Food Plan

OBJECTIVE: The present article tracks the development of the Australian National Food Plan as a 'whole of government' food policy that aimed to integrate elements of nutrition and sustainability alongside economic objectives. DESIGN: The article uses policy analysis to explore the processes of consultation and stakeholder involvement in the development of the National Food Plan, focusing on actors from the sectors of industry, civil society and government. Existing documentation and submissions to the Plan were used as data sources. Models of health policy analysis and policy streams were employed to analyse policy development processes. SETTING: Australia. SUBJECTS: Australian food policy stakeholders. RESULTS: The development of the Plan was influenced by powerful industry groups and stakeholder engagement by the lead ministry favoured the involvement of actors representing the food and agriculture industries. Public health nutrition and civil society relied on traditional methods of policy influence, and the public health nutrition movement failed to develop a unified cross-sector alliance, while the private sector engaged in different ways and presented a united front. The National Food Plan failed to deliver an integrated food policy for Australia. Nutrition and sustainability were effectively sidelined due to the focus on global food production and positioning Australia as a food 'superpower' that could take advantage of the anticipated 'dining boom' as incomes rose in the Asia-Pacific region. CONCLUSIONS: New forms of industry influence are emerging in the food policy arena and public health nutrition will need to adopt new approaches to influencing public policy.

Surveillance, responsibility and control: an analysis of government and industry discourses about 'problem' and 'responsible' gambling

Background: Discussions of gambling have traditionally focused on ideas of “problem” and “responsible” gambling. However, few studies have examined how Institutions attempt to exert social control over gamblers in order to promote so-called “responsible” behaviour. In this study, we examine the way “problem” and “responsible” gambling are discussed by Australian governments and the gambling industry, using a theoretical framework based on the work of Foucault.

Method: We conducted a thematic analysis of discourses surrounding problem and responsible gambling in government and gambling industry websites, television campaigns and responsible gambling materials.

Results: Documents distinguished between gambling, which was positive for the community, and problem gambling, which was portrayed as harmful and requiring medical intervention. The need for responsible gambling was emphasised in many of the documents, and reinforced by mechanisms including self-monitoring, self-control and surveillance of gamblers.

Conclusions: Government and industry expect gamblers to behave “responsibly”, and are heavily influenced by neoliberal ideas of rational, controlled subjects in their conceptualisation of what constitutes “responsible behaviour”. As a consequence, problem gamblers become constructed as a deviant group. This may have significant consequences for problem gamblers, such as the creation of stigma.

Legal liability, government intervention, and auditor behavior : evidence from structural reform of audit firms in China

This paper investigates how legal liability influences audit quality and audit fees, particularly in the presence of government intervention. Since 2010, all Chinese audit firms were required to transform from a structure of limited liability company (LLC) to limited liability partnership (LLP), which removes the cap on the liability exposure of negligent auditors. By adopting this natural experiment, we document the following findings: first, after audit firms reorganize as LLPs, auditors are more likely to (1) issue modified audit opinions and going-concern opinions, (2) constrain clients’ earnings management, and (3) charge a premium in audit fees, which suggest that exerting unlimited legal liability on negligent auditors improves both audit quality and audit fees. Second, the effect of the LLP adoption is more pronounced when auditors are from local audit firms, and clients are controlled by local governments. Further analyses suggest that the stock prices of clients positively react to the reform event, which indicates that LLP adoption improves the overall value of audits. In summary, our empirical findings are consistent with the argument that legal liability is able to effectively shape auditor behavior in emerging markets where the other institutional mechanisms are relatively weaker and government intervention is heavy.

Interns are from Venus, consultants are from Mars: differential perception among clinicians

OBJECTIVE: To test for the presence of sex-based differences in perception (the notion that men and women "think" differently, and that differences in perception are biologically based) among healthcare professionals. DESIGN: Prospective survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 90 medical personnel at a tertiary care hospital in Newcastle, NSW. INTERVENTION: Healthcare professionals were shown two pictures that could be interpreted as depicting either a young or an old person, and a word that could be seen as geometric shapes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The effects of sex, age, seniority, and specialisation in relation to the first impression of the image, the ability to change one's perception, and the speed of perception. RESULTS: Contrary to popular opinion, male physicians were more likely to perceive the older figures, and just as likely as women to be able to change their perception. Surgeons and junior staff were more likely to see, as well as being faster to form, an impression requiring abstract thought, and were more able to change their perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: Traditional sex stereotypes do not apply to medical personnel, but other age-based stereotypes, and professional rivalries (medical versus surgical) may have some empiric basis.

The driving force of government in promoting BIM implementation

The adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the greatest technological innovations in the construction industry to date. However, the implementation of BIM lags far behind its potential due to the existence of various barriers. Strong government support is critical for the successful development and deployment of complex technology systems. BIM could seek government support to drive its implementation process and overcome the barriers. Through a survey, this paper aims to discover stakeholders’ expectations of the government role in BIM implementation and explores specific ways for governments to promote BIM implementation. The research findings are expected to assist related departments to accelerate BIM implementation.