Rural nursing and health care reforms : building a social model

This article explores recent shifts in health-care policy and the implications for rural nursing in Australia. Health-care reforms have resulted in the implementation of a 'market forces' ideology, creating tensions between economic imperatives and the need for equity and greater access in rural service delivery. New models of health-service delivery have been developed that have significant implications for the way rural health care is defined, practised and received. The issues surrounding the context of rural nursing practice and service delivery are discussed.

Financial accounting reforms in the Australian public sector: an episode in institutional thinking

In recent years in Australia, accounting regulations have been developed that require the adoption of commercial accounting and reporting practices by public-sector organisations, including the recognition of cultural, heritage and scientific collections as assets by non-profit cultural organisations. The regulations inappropriately apply traditional accounting concepts of accountability and performance, notwithstanding that the primary objectives of many of the organisations affected are not financial. This study examines how this was able to occur within the ideas outlined in Douglas’s (1986) How Institutions Think. The study provides evidence to demonstrate that the development; promotion, and defense of the detailed accounting regulations were each constrained by institutional thinking and, as a result, only certain questions were asked and many problems and issues associated with the regulations were not addressed. Thus, it seeks to further our understanding of the nature and limits of change in accounting and the role of institutions in promoting and defending changes to accounting practice.

Reflections on some recent corporate governance reforms in Germany. A transformation of the German aktienrecht?

Focuses on the German law reform relating to public corporations. Flaws to the German system of corporate governance; Advantages of comparative corporate governance research; Features of the German Corporate Governance Code.

Good governance and market-based reforms : a study of Bangladesh

‘Good governance’ is increasingly regarded as pivotal to development in developing countries. The six indicators recognized as the most effective measurement tools of ‘good governance’ across the world are: voice and accountability; political stability and absence of violence; government effectiveness; regulatory quality; rule of law and control of corruption (Kaufmann, Kraay and Lobaton, 2003: 8–9). This paper investigates how lack of ‘good governance’ affects the success and sustainability of the market-based reforms undertaken in the agriculture sector of Bangladesh. The reforms have been associated with increased food grain production, improved food security conditions and easy access by farmers to agricultural inputs. However, a significant problem has arisen recently: the sale of low quality and underweight agricultural inputs sometimes at higher prices has become common. Not only is this problem undermining the positive impact of the reforms, it is also threatening their sustainability. The paper argues that the problems with regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption – indicators of good governance – are the underlying reasons for this problem. In the context of increasing pressures from donors to pursue market-based reforms, this paper stresses the need for integrated governance linking government, business and civil society as paramount for promoting good governance for the success and sustainability of the reforms.

Victorian local government reforms 1992-1999, revisited: implication for trade unions

Between 1992 and 1999 the Victorian State Government, Led by Jeff Kennett, set about implementing the most extensive public sector reform program ever witnessed in Australia, part of which involved significant changes in the organisation and operation of Local government. Although Local government had traditionally been 'the blind spot' in governmental arrangements, within three years of assuming office Local government had undergone major structural and operational change. This paper revisits this period by examining four elements of the reform agenda including the factors driving the reform, the Kennett government's approach to Local government reform, the expected outcomes sought by this government, and the policies implemented in Local government to achieve the expected outcomes. The paper identifies a number of implications for trade unions arising from this reform agenda and concludes that further investigation is warranted in this area.

Impact of tobacco tax reforms on tobacco prices and tobacco use in Australia

OBJECTIVE: To document the impact of changes to tobacco taxes on the range and price of tobacco sold during the period when the National Tobacco Campaign (NTC) was run.

DATA SOURCES: Information about brand availability, pack size, and price was extracted from Australian Retail Tobacconist. A retail observational survey was undertaken to monitor actual retail prices. Data on cigarette prices, brands, packet configurations, and outlets from which they were purchased were obtained from the benchmark and three follow up population telephone surveys conducted to evaluate the NTC.

METHOD: Data from the three sources were compared to see the extent to which the impact of tax changes had been offset by greater retail discounting and a more concerted effort by consumers to purchase cheaper products.

RESULTS: Smokers were unable to cushion themselves from the sharp price increases that occurred during the third phase of the NTC. Both average recommended retail prices of manufactured cigarettes and average actual cigarette prices paid by smokers increased by 25% in real prices.

CONCLUSION: The fall in smoking prevalence over the first two phases of the NTC was substantially greater than would be expected due to tax changes alone. The fall in smoking consumption over the first two phases was slightly less than would be expected and in the third considerably higher than would be expected.

Australia's radical predatory pricing reforms : what business must know

Radical changes to the Trade Practices Act have the potential to affect significantly, the ability of businesses to engage in vigorous price competition. These changes are designed to prohibit what is colloquially referred to as predatory pricing; the practice of a firm temporarily reducing its prices to a level designed to eliminate its competitors so that, free of competition, it can thereafter, lift them to supra-competitive levels. Unfortunately, because of its scope and the ambiguous new concepts it employs, the section has the potential to apply to all forms of vigorous.price competition and creates significant risks for those businesses who.seek to compete with their rivals by systematically, or irregularly, selling at lower prices than they do. This note examines the section's nature and scope and identifies the pitfalls that it presents for such firms.

Australia's radical predatory pricing reforms: what business must know

Radical changes to the Trade Practices Act have the potential to affect significantly the ability of businesses to engage in vigorous price competition. These changes are designed to prohibit what is colloquially referred to as predatory pricing; the practice of a firm temporarily reducing its prices to a level designed to eliminate its competitors so that, free of competition, it can thereafter lift them to supra-competitive levels. Unfortunately, because of its scope and the ambiguous new concepts it employs, the section has the potential to apply to all forms of vigorous price competition and creates significant risks for those businesses who seek to compete with their rivals by systematically, or irregularly, selling at lower prices than they do. This note examines the section’s nature and scope and identifies the pitfalls that it presents for such firms.

Economic reforms, cultural policy : opportunities and challenges to the arts and culture in Vietnam in the age of globalization

The author investigates social change in Vietnam in the late 1980s-2000s, a transition from a subsidized economy to a market-oriented economy. The author discusses the influences of socioeconomic changes on the operation of the performing arts sector through analyzing changes in cultural policies, opportunities, and challenges confronted by performing arts organizations. The new cultural policy allows arts organizations, arts managers, and artists more opportunities to develop a greater degree of autonomy and more freedom in performing, programming and other artistic activities. The author believes that open policies will motivate Vietnam to develop its own national identity and to participate in cultural exchange with other parts of the world. However, under the impact of global culture, global economics, cuts in state funding, and rapid technological development, the performing arts sector has faced challenges in terms of financial viability, audience development, and balance between commercialization and artistic creativity. The author suggests that privatization should be implemented depending on the art form. Consideration should be given by the Vietnamese government to implementing appropriate funding policies and schemes, as state funding still forms a significant part of public companies' incomes.