Arts marketing : a new tool for development of the arts sector in the market context in Vietnam

Since the economic reform in Vietnam in 1986 provided more artistic and financial autonomy, the arts community has had more opportunity to develop. It has hence become necessary for arts leaders to obtain management and marketing skills to adapt to the new competitive environment. This necessity became vital when the Vietnamese government sought to tackle the problem of inadequate state funding for arts organisations through its policy of socialisation. This paper sets out to examine how performing arts organisations in Vietnam apply arts marketing strategies to adapt to the market context via empirical data from the cases studied: Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and Hanoi Youth Theatre. Further, it identifies implications for the development of the sector. Findings indicate that Vietnamese performing arts organisations focus on the role of marketing for organisational development, although there are a lack of resources and a limited knowledge in this area. Thus, training in arts marketing and arts management is needed to maximise capacity of arts leaders in managing their organisations in the changing context.

Reforming Australian public sector accounting : an episode of institutional thinking

In recent years in Australia, accounting reforms have been developed which have resulted in the application of commercial systems of accounting to diverse public sector organisations. The reforms, which include the requirement to recognise infrastructure and heritage resources as assets in financial reports, endorse financial notions of accountability and performance that have been traditionally applied within private sector, profit-seeking organisations. Such notions are applied to a range of public sector organisations for the first time, even though the primary missions or objectives of many of these organisations are social, rather than financial in orientation. This critical, interpretative case study, set within the context of not-for-profit public museums, seeks to enhance an understanding of public sector accounting change based on these unique social organisations. The study examines three aspects of the reforms, namely, their development, their promotion and their defence. This examination is undertaken using the ideas contained in Mary Douglas’ (1986) How Institutions Think as the key theoretical construct. The supplementary perspectives of problematisation and epistemic communities are used to assist in applying the primary theoretical construct by explaining how, and by whom, these reforms were advocated and implemented in this specific instance. The study shows how the interpretation and application of the statements comprising the conceptual framework have shaped the development, promotion and defence of detailed standards developed for specific public sector organisations. In doing so, the study addresses two key research questions: (1) How were financial notions of accountability and performance of Australian public sector organisations constructed during the period 1976-2001 and articulated in the CF, once its development began, within this reform period? (2) How were these notions and other concepts of financial reporting outlined in the CF interpreted and applied in the (i) development; (ii) promotion; and (iii) defence of detailed accounting standards for not-for-profit public museums in Australia during the period under investigation? The study demonstrates that the concepts of financial reporting outlined in the conceptual framework were used by a relatively small group of technical experts located in influential positions in accounting regulation and in other fields to justify the application of accrual accounting within diverse public sector organisations. During the period examined, only certain questions were posed and certain issues considered and many problems associated with the implementation of the reforms were not considered. Accordingly, a key finding of the study is that each aspect of the reform period was guided and constrained by institutional thinking. In addition, the study shows how the framework's content can be used to permit equally well-argued, but conflicting, accounting policies to be adopted and defended for the same items, indicating the framework to be of only limited value as a technical tool. This leads to another key finding of the study, namely, that the framework is best understood as a political tool, serving a crucial role in enabling accrual accounting reforms to be developed, promoted and defended within the public sector. Thus, the study seeks to offer an enhanced understanding of the nature and determinants of accounting change, and accordingly, it broadens an understanding of the use of the conceptual framework, as an institution, in developing, promoting and defending changes to accounting practice.

Australian dental policy reform and the use of dental therapists and hygienists

Oral diseases including dental caries and periodontal disease are among the most prevalent and costly diseases in Australia today. Around 5.4% of Australia’s health dollar is spent on dental services totalling around $2.6 billion, 84% of which are delivered through the private sector (AIHW 2001). The other 16% is spent providing public sector services in varied and inadequate ways. While disease rates among school children have declined significantly in the past 20 years the gains made among children are not flowing on to adult dentitions and our aging population will place increasing demands on an inadequate system into the future (AHMAC 2001). Around 50% of adults do not received regular care and this has implications for widening health inequalities as the greatest burden falls on lower income groups (AIHW DSRU 2001). The National Competition Policy agenda has initiated, Australia-wide, reviews of dental legislation applying to delivery of services by dentists, dental specialists, dental therapists and hygienists and dental technicians and prosthetists. The review of the Victorian Dentists Act 1972, was completed first in 1999, followed by the other Australian states with Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory still developing legislation. One of the objectives of the new Victorian Act is to ‘…promote access to dental care’. This study has grown out of the need to know more about how dental therapists and hygienists might be utilised to achieve this and the legislative frameworks that could enable such roles. This study used qualitative methods to explore dental health policy making associated with strategies that may increase access to dental care using dental therapists and hygienists. The study used a multiple case study design to critically examine the dental policy development process around the Review of the Dentists Act 1972 in Victoria; to assess legislative and regulatory dental policy reforms in other states in Australia and to conduct a comparative analysis of dental health policy as it relates to dental auxiliary practice internationally. Data collection has involved (I) semi-structured interviews with key participants and stakeholders in the policy development processes in Victoria, interstate and overseas, and (ii) analysis of documentary data sources. The study has taken a grounded theory approach whereby theoretical issues that emerged from the Victorian case study were further developed and challenged in the subsequent interstate and international case studies. A component of this study has required the development of indicators in regulatory models for dental hygienists and therapists that will increase access to dental care for the community. These indicators have been used to analyse regulation reform and the likely impacts in each setting. Despite evidence of need, evidence of the effectiveness and efficiency of dental therapists and hygienists, and the National Competition Policy agenda of increasing efficiency, the legislation reviews have mostly produces only minor changes. Results show that almost all Australian states have regulated dental therapists and hygienists in more prescriptive ways than they do dentists. The study has found that dental policy making is still dominated by the views of private practice dentists under elitist models that largely protect dentist authority, autonomy and sovereignty. The influence of dentist professional dominance has meant that governments have been reluctant to make sweeping changes. The study has demonstrated alternative models of regulation for dental therapists and hygienists, which would allow wider utilisation of their skills, more effective use of public sector funding, increased access to services and a grater focus on preventive care. In the light of theses outcomes, there is a need to continue to advocate for changes that will increase the public health focus of oral health care.

Supply chain management security : the weak link of Australian critical infrastructure protection

Secure management of Australia’s commercial Critical Infrastructure presents ongoing challenges to both the owners of this infrastructure as well as to the Australian Federal government. The security management process is currently managed through high-level information sharing via collaboration, but does this situation suit the commercial sector? One of the issues facing Australia is that the majority of critical infrastructure resides under the control of the business sector and certain aspects such of the critical infrastructure such as Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems are distributed entities that span a number of commercial organisations. Another issue is that these SCM systems can be used for the transportation of varied items, such as retail items or food. This paper will explore the security issue related to food SCM systems and their relationship to critical infrastructure. The paper will focuses upon the security and risk issues associated with SCM system protection within the realms of critical infrastructure protection. The paper will review the security standard ISO 28000 - Supply Chain Security Management Standard. The paper will propose a new conceptual security risk analysis approach that will form the basis of a future Security Risk Analysis approach. This new approach will be aimed at protecting SCM systems.

Sustainable workforce reform : case study of Victorian nurse practitioner roles

Nurse practitioner (NP) roles have been identified as a key strategy in the development of a sustainable and responsive health workforce. To date, the focus of research related to NP roles has been on implementation and short-term evaluation of aspects of NP care; however, little is known about the sustainability of NP roles. A major challenge for the
healthcare sector is to demonstrate long-term outcomes of NP care and shift the research focus from individual NPs to the effectiveness of healthcare teams that incorporate NPs. This paper draws on a framework of the following domains of sustainability in primary care: political, institutional, financial–economic, workforce and client (or patient) and applies these domains to NP planning in the Victorian context.

'Build it, fill it and bill it' : how work in the public housing sector has changed (and stayed the same)

This paper is an ethnographic account of how 'wicked' (i.e. entrenched and enduring) problems with the 'building, filling and billing' of public housing have shaped and influenced the work of public housing workers in Victoria, Australia. With a few exceptions, the front line work of housing staff is represented in the literature as smaller, constituent parts of some larger policy process, organisational event or procedural reform. In order to understand how housing work has been constructed over time, this paper attempts to consolidate these fragmented narratives (contained in old documents, training manuals, news articles and reports) into an historical account of 'what it was like' to work in the public/social housing sector. In this paper, I will construct this 'historical account' with the stories I gathered over twelve months of field work in three different public housing offices. In their stories, public housing workers tell me how subtle and incremental has been the change to their work, how increasingly complex are the needs of tenants and how dfficult their work has become. Their stories illustrate the complexity of undersdanding and addressing these 'wicked' housing problems when tenants change, staff change and
the public housing sector has a history of frequent 'restructuring'. This contextualisation of 'old and new stories' will allow the reader to understand how the organisational reality of present day housing work has been socially constructed ('sedimented') by generation, of workers, managers and tenants.

The role of the press in Iraq's long struggle for democratic reform

The toppling of Saddam in 2003 has seen Iraq shift from only a handful of state organs that served as propaganda machines, to a wealth of over 200 Iraqi-owned newspapers which are being fervently produced and avidly read on the streets of the nation. This paper traces the introduction of the printing press to Iraq by the Ottomans and details both the periods where Iraq’s press was truly free and fostered the emergence of a civil society and democratic reforms and those where the Iraqi media was most restricted and did little else than praise the regime at hand. Following on, this paper reviews the developments since the fall of Saddam Hussein and, despite the extensive interference in Iraq’s media sector from the occupying forces, it concludes by arguing that these papers have been central to the re-emergence of an Iraqi public sphere which has openly debated and discussed the issues surrounding the nation’s shift from despotism to democracy.

Two steps forward, one step back : Indonesia’s arduous path to reform

Australians have long worried about whether Indonesia is ‘special’ or ‘normal’. Instead, we need to deal with Indonesia as it really is—a country experiencing simultaneously the challenges of political reform, economic development and a shifting regional security environment. The country’s political future is less certain than we would hope: after SBY’s term of government ends, the choice of a successor will be critical in determining the future of reform. We can’t rule out that Indonesia might slide back to old ways of doing business—democratisation is a fraught process.
As the Indonesian economy grows, so too do the prospects for Indonesia to establish its natural position as the leader of Southeast Asia. As the world is re-examining Indonesia, so too Indonesia is looking afresh at the world—more interested in external issues than it was a decade ago. The Southeast Asian subregion increasingly finds itself at the centre of a more strongly interconnected Indo-Pacific region—so Indonesia’s strategic importance is going up.
It’s important for Australia to build a better strategic relationship with Indonesia. The two are complementary partners. Australia should be proactive in exploring new opportunities for cooperation with a reform minded Indonesia—it’s in our interests to draw Indonesia into a more important strategic role in regional security.
Professor Damien Kingsbury, the author of this Strategy, is the Director, Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne.

Co-production and health system reform - from re-imagining to re-making

There is growing interest in the application of citizen participation within all areas of public sector service development, where it is increasingly promoted as a significant strand of post-neoliberal policy concerned with re-imagining citizenship and more participatory forms of citizen/consumer engagement. The application of such a perspective within health services, via co-production, has both beneficial, but also problematic implications for the organisation of such services, for professional practice and education. Given the disappointing results in increasing consumer involvement in health services via ‘choice’ and ‘voice’ participation strategies, the question of how the more challenging approach of co-production will fare needs to be addressed. The article discusses the possibilities and challenges of system-wide co-production for health. It identifies the discourse and practice contours of co-production, differentiating co-production from other health consumer-led approaches. Finally, it identifies issues critically related to the successful implementation of co-production where additional theorisation and research are required.

The "X component" in Shanghai's social security reforms

In 2003, the Shanghai Bureau of Labour and Social Security launched the zhenbao (town insurance) programme, now widely known as 25 plus X. This scheme is regarded as an important experiment in social security reform and has been lauded for extending social security to areas where previously only segments of the population had mandatory coverage. Using data from 103,000 individuals enrolled in 25 plus X, we examine the extent to which the scheme represents an extension in social security coverage. Our analysis suggests that while it does represent an extension of benefits for some, for many it represents a considerable dilution in benefits. © 2009 The author(s). Journal compilation © 2009 International Social Security Association.

Migration and the right to social security: perceptions of off-farm migrants' rights to social insurance in China's Jiangsu Province

In 2001 China ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. By so doing the national government became legally bound, "to the maximum of its available resources", to achieve "progressively" full realization of the rights specified in the Covenant. Included amongst these entitlements is the "right of everyone to social security, including social insurance". This paper uses data from Jiangsu to examine the extent to which urbanites agree that previously disenfranchised migrants have the same right to social insurance as the urban population. Many urbanites fear that their existing entitlements to social protection will be diluted if social insurance coverage is extended to include new populations. Accordingly, state agencies and the media have sought to promote acceptance of a more positive view of migrant workers than has traditionally prevailed within towns and cities. We find that younger urban residents, urban residents who already have social insurance and urban residents working in the state-owned sector are more likely to agree that migrants have the same right to social insurance as the urban population. © 2007 Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Still serving hot soup? Two hundred years of a charitable food sector in Australia: a narrative review

OBJECTIVE: Despite the importance of the charitable food sector for a proportion of the Australian population, there is uncertainty about its present and future contributions to wellbeing. This paper describes its nature and examines its scope for improving health and food security. METHODS: The review, using systematic methods for public health research, identified peer-reviewed and grey literature relevant to Australian charitable food programs (2002 to 2012). RESULTS: Seventy publications met the criteria and informed this paper. The sector includes food banks, more than 3,000 community agencies and 800 school breakfast programs. It provides food for up to two million people annually. The scope extends beyond emergency food relief and includes case management, advocacy and other support. Weaknesses include a food supply that is sub-optimal, resource limitations and lack of evidence to evaluate or support their work towards food security. CONCLUSIONS: The sector supports people experiencing disadvantage and involves multiple organisations, working in a variety of settings, to provide food for up to 8% of the population. The limits on the sector's capacity to address food insecurity by itself must be acknowledged so that civil society, government and the food industry can support sufficient, nutritious and affordable food for all.

Servant leadership, trust, and the organizational commitment of public sector employees in China

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. So-called servant leaders strive selflessly and altruistically to assist others before themselves, work to develop their followers' greatest potential, and seek to benefit the wider community. This article examines the trust-based mechanisms by which servant leadership influences organizational commitment in the Chinese public sector, using data from a survey of civil servants. Quantitative analysis shows that servant leadership strongly influences affective and normative commitment, while having no impact on continuance commitment. Furthermore, we find that affective trust rather than cognitive trust is the mechanism by which servant leadership induces higher levels of commitment. Our findings suggest that in a time of decreasing confidence levels in public leaders, servant leadership behaviour may be used to re-establish trust and create legitimacy for the Chinese civil service.

Decent work and the informal sector in Brazil

Brazil has a substantial share – about 60% by some measures - of its employees working without labor registry and 62% of its private sector workers not contributing to social security. Informality is important because its job precaurioness, social desprotection consequences, and it is also very correlated with poverty and other social welfare concepts measured at a family level. 58% of the country population that is found below the indigent line live in families headed by informal workers. The complexity of the informal sector is derived from the multiple relevant dimensions of jobs quality. The basis used for guiding policy interventions depends on which effect of informality one is interested such: as lowering job precaurioness, increasing occupational risks, increasing the degree of protection against adverse shocks, allowing that good oportunities to be taken by the credit provision, improving informal workers families living conditions, implementing afirmative actions, reducing tax evasion etc. This report gauges various aspects of the informal sector activities in Brazil over the last decades. Our artistic constraint are the available sources of information. The final purpose is to help the design of policies aimed to assist those that hold “indecent” jobs

As reformas da previdência no Brasil e o equilíbrio e atuarial dos Regimes Próprios de Previdência Social (RPPS), dos entes federados estaduais da Região Sudeste

O desequilíbrio das contas públicas, notadamente em relação à previdência do servidor público no Brasil, tem levado a buscas constantes de soluções para garantir o custeio do modelo em desenvolvimento. As mudanças estabelecidas nas Reformas da Previdência têm contribuído de forma significativa para diminuir o passivo previdenciário acumulado ao longo dos anos, principalmente nos estados, municípios das capitais e dos demais constituídos antes da promulgação da Carta Magna de 1988. Os estados escolhidos para análise demonstraram desacertos, todavia apresentam resultados promissores para o equilíbrio financeiro e atuarial dos RPPS. A utilização de modelos parecidos aos implementados na América do Sul, para o setor público e privado, apresentam-se inadequados no Brasil para os servidores públicos. Precisamos continuar aprimorando os nossos conhecimentos, buscando novas alternativas que garantam a sustentabilidade e viabilidade do sistema, sem comprometer a capacidade de investimentos dos entes federados