An audit tool for intellectual property management: IP management in the Queensland Department of Primary Industries

Smart State is a Queensland Government initiative that recognises the central role of knowledge-based economic growth. In this context, the management of intellectual property (IP) within Queensland and Australian government research and development agencies has changed dramatically over recent years. Increasing expectations have been placed on utilising public sector IP to both underpin economic development and augment taxes by generating new revenues. Public sector research and development (R&D) management has come under greater scrutiny to commercialise and/or corporatise their activities. In a study of IP management issues in the Queensland Public Sector we developed a framework to facilitate a holistic audit of IP management in government agencies. In this paper we describe this framework as it pertains to one large public sector Agriculture R&D Agency, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI). The four overlapping domains of the framework are: IP Generation; IP Rights; IP Uptake; and Corporate IP Support. The audit within QDPI, conducted in 2000 near the outset of Smart State, highlighted some well developed IP management practices within QDPI's traditional areas of focus of innovation (IP Generation) and IP ownership and licensing (IP Rights). However, further management practice developments are required to improve the domains of IP Uptake and Corporate IP Support.

Bridging the gap between different statistical approaches: An integrated framework for modelling

This paper proposes a template for modelling complex datasets that integrates traditional statistical modelling approaches with more recent advances in statistics and modelling through an exploratory framework. Our approach builds on the well-known and long standing traditional idea of 'good practice in statistics' by establishing a comprehensive framework for modelling that focuses on exploration, prediction, interpretation and reliability assessment, a relatively new idea that allows individual assessment of predictions. The integrated framework we present comprises two stages. The first involves the use of exploratory methods to help visually understand the data and identify a parsimonious set of explanatory variables. The second encompasses a two step modelling process, where the use of non-parametric methods such as decision trees and generalized additive models are promoted to identify important variables and their modelling relationship with the response before a final predictive model is considered. We focus on fitting the predictive model using parametric, non-parametric and Bayesian approaches. This paper is motivated by a medical problem where interest focuses on developing a risk stratification system for morbidity of 1,710 cardiac patients given a suite of demographic, clinical and preoperative variables. Although the methods we use are applied specifically to this case study, these methods can be applied across any field, irrespective of the type of response.

Kangaroos and feral goats as economic resources for graziers: Some views from south-west Queensland

Fifteen years ago it was proposed that the conversion of kangaroos from a pest to an economically valuable resource would allow graziers to reduce the numbers of domestic stock and thereby lower total grazing pressure. Since then, little progress towards this goal has been achieved. This is believed to be due mainly to the low prices obtained for kangaroo products. A survey of graziers in south-west Queensland was carried out to discover their opinions on kangaroos as a potential economic resource. Questions on the harvesting of feral goats were also included in the survey because of the contrast this industry provides to kangaroo harvesting in terms of grazier involvement. The results of the survey are discussed in relation to resource ownership rights; kangaroo product prices and marketing; and competition within the kangaroo harvesting industry. They show that while low kangaroo product prices do act as a disincentive to graziers, other administrative, legal and institutional factors are also important impediments to their entry to the industry. It is concluded that until the focus of attention widens to include consideration of these as well as just market factors, little progress will be made towards integrating graziers into the kangaroo harvesting industry.

Making developmental biology relevant to undergraduates in an era of economic rationalism in Australia

This report describes the road map we followed at our university to accommodate three main factors: financial pressure within the university system; desire to enhance the learning experience of undergraduates; and motivation to increase the prominence of the discipline of developmental biology in our university. We engineered a novel, multi-year undergraduate developmental biology program which was student-oriented, ensuring that students were continually exposed to the underlying principles and philosophy of this discipline throughout their undergraduate career. Among its key features are introductory lectures in core courses in the first year, which emphasize the relevance of developmental biology to tissue engineering, reproductive medicine, therapeutic approaches in medicine, agriculture and aquaculture. State-of-the-art animated computer graphics and images of high visual impact are also used. In addition, students are streamed into the developmental biology track in the second year, using courses like human embryology and courses shared with cell biology, which include practicals based on modern experimental approaches. Finally, fully dedicated third-year courses in developmental biology are undertaken in conjunction with stand-alone practical courses where students experience first-hand work in a research laboratory. Our philosophy is a cradle-to-grave approach to the education of undergraduates so as to prepare highly motivated, enthusiastic and well-educated developmental biologists for entry into graduate programs and ultimately post-doctoral research.

Clinical and economic impact of exercise electrocardiography and exercise echocardiography in clinical practice

Background Patients with known or suspected coronary disease are often investigated to facilitate risk assessment. We sought to examine the cost-effectiveness of strategies based on exercise echocardiography and exercise electrocardiography. Methods and results We studied 7656 patients undergoing exercise testing; of whom half underwent exercise echocardiography. Risk was defined with the Duke treadmill score for those undergoing exercise electrocardiography alone, and by the extent of ischaemia by exercise echocardiography. Cox proportional hazards models, risk adjusted for pretest likelihood of coronary artery disease, were used to estimate time to cardiac death or myocardial infarction. Costs (including diagnostic and revascularisation procedures, hospitalisations, and events) were calculated, inflation-corrected to year 2000 using Medicare trust fund rates and discounted at a rate of 5%. A decision model was employed to assess the marginal cost effectiveness (cost/life year saved) of exercise echo compared with exercise electrocardiography. Exercise echocardiography identified more patients as low-risk (51% vs 24%, p<0.001), and fewer as intermediate- (27% vs 51%, p<0.001) and high-risk (22% vs 4%); survival was greater in low- and intermediate- risk and less in high-risk patients. Although initial procedural costs and revascularisation costs (in intermediate- high risk patients) were greater, exercise echocardiography was associated with a greater incremental life expectancy (0.2 years) and a lower use of additional diagnostic procedures when compared with exercise electrocardiography (especially in lower risk patients). Using decision analysis, exercise echocardiography (Euro 2615/life year saved) was more cost effective than exercise electrocardiography. Conclusion Exercise echocardiography may enhance cost-effectiveness for the detection and management of at risk patients with known or suspected coronary disease. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The European Society of Cardiology.

Balancing the number and size of sites: An economic approach to the optimal design of cluster samples

The design of randomized controlled trials entails decisions that have economic as well as statistical implications. In particular, the choice of an individual or cluster randomization design may affect the cost of achieving the desired level of power, other things being equal. Furthermore, if cluster randomization is chosen, the researcher must decide how to balance the number of clusters, or sites, and the size of each site. This article investigates these interrelated statistical and economic issues. Its principal purpose is to elucidate the statistical and economic trade-offs to assist researchers to employ randomized controlled trials that have desired economic, as well as statistical, properties. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A yield architecture framework to explain adaptation of pearl millet to environmental stress

Functional knowledge of the physiological basis of crop adaptation to stress is a prerequisite for exploiting specific adaptation to stress environments in breeding programs. This paper presents an analysis of yield components for pearl millet, to explain the specific adaptation of local landraces to stress environments in Rajasthan, India. Six genotypes, ranging from high-tillering traditional landraces to low-tillering open-pollinated modern cultivars, were grown in 20 experiments, covering a range of nonstress and drought stress patterns. In each experiment, yield components (particle number, grain number, 100 grain mass) were measured separately for main shoots, basal tillers, and nodal tillers. Under optimum conditions, landraces had a significantly lower grain yield than the cultivars, but no significant differences were observed at yield levels around 1 ton ha(-1). This genotype x environment interaction for grain yield was due to a difference in yield strategy, where landraces aimed at minimising the risk of a crop failure under stress conditions, and modem cultivars aimed at maximising yield potential under optimum conditions. A key aspect of the adaptation of landraces was the small size of the main shoot panicle, as it minimised (1) the loss of productive tillers during stem elongation; (2) the delay in anthesis if mid-season drought occurs; and (3) the reduction in panicle productivity of the basal tillers under stress. In addition, a low investment in structural panicle weight, relative to vegetative crop growth rate, promoted the production of nodal tillers, providing a mechanism to compensate for reduced basal tiller productivity if stress occurred around anthesis. A low maximum 100 grain mass also ensured individual grain mass was little affected by environmental conditions. The strategy of the high-tillering landraces carries a yield penalty under optimum conditions, but is expected to minimise the risk of a crop failure, particularly if mid-season drought stress occurs. The yield architecture of low-tillering varieties, by contrast, will be suited to end-of-season drought stress, provided anthesis is early. Application of the above adaptation mechanisms into a breeding program could enable the identification of plant types that match the prevalent stress patterns in the target environments. (C) 2003 E.J. van Oosterom. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Plano de implementa????o do projeto de desenvolvimento de capacidade de governan??a

Desde a d??cada de 1990, o Governo Federal brasileiro vem implementando uma agenda ambiciosa de reformas do Estado, centradas na redu????o da pobreza e na melhoria da efici??ncia dos servi??os p??blicos. As principais prioridades, conforme previstas no Plano Plurianual (PPA) para o per??odo 2003-2007, s??o as seguintes: inclus??o social e redu????o da desigualdade; crescimento econ??mico com gera????o de emprego; distribui????o de renda e respeito ao meio ambiente; promo????o e amplia????o dos direitos de cidadania; e fortalecimento da democracia. No in??cio de 2006, o Governo criou a Pol??tica Nacional de Desenvolvimento de Pessoal (Decreto 5.707), com o objetivo de melhorar e aumentar a efici??ncia e a efic??cia na presta????o de servi??os p??blicos. No marco dessa pol??tica recente, as escolas de administra????o p??blica desempenham um papel fundamental na identifica????o das compet??ncias que precisam ser desenvolvidas nas institui????es do governo, bem como na implementa????o de pol??ticas de capacita????o para os servidores p??blicos, diretamente e/ou em parceria com escolas de governo nos n??veis federal, estadual ou local. O Canad?? tamb??m est?? criando uma estrutura para levantar as compet??ncias necess??rias para os servidores p??blicos e desenvolv??-las como um componente da Renova????o do Servi??o P??blico em todo o governo. Como institui????es l??deres no desenvolvimento de compet??ncias de servidores p??blicos, a Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) e a Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica (ENAP) firmaram uma parceria para implementar o Projeto de Desenvolvimento de Capacidade de Governan??a no Brasil. A finalidade do Projeto ?? melhorar a capacidade de servidores p??blicos federais, estaduais e municipais do Brasil para desenvolver e implementar programas de capacita????o e gerenciar pol??ticas p??blicas descentralizadas. Espera-se que essa parceria e o resultante compartilhamento de experi??ncias em capacita????o para governan??a efetiva contribuam para a redu????o da pobreza e das desigualdades no Brasil, por meio do desenvolvimento de compet??ncias de servidores na presta????o de servi??os p??blicos eficazes e eficientes, voltados para o cidad??o. O Projeto re??ne, al??m das duas principais Escolas de Governo no Canad?? e no Brasil, seis Escolas Brasileiras de Administra????o P??blica regionais e duas renomadas Institui????es Acad??micas Canadenses ??? a Queen???s University e a Western Ontario University. O Minist??rio do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate ?? Fome (MDS) e tr??s Secretarias Especiais do Governo Federal ??? Ra??a (SEPPIR), Direitos Humanos (SEDH) e Pol??ticas para as Mulheres (SPM) ??? tamb??m se envolver??o nas atividades de compartilhamento de conhecimentos com o Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) e a Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA). A CIDA fornecer?? CND$1.700.000 por meio do Programa Brasil-Canad?? de Interc??mbio de Conhecimentos para a Promo????o da Equidade (PIPE). A contribui????o da ENAP ser?? de CND$1.069.707 em esp??cie. A CSPS contribuir?? com cursos, al??m de conhecimentos e suporte t??cnicos, avaliados em CND$1.000.000. Aproveitando a parceria entre a CSPS e a ENAP, que resultou na transfer??ncia e na adapta????o bem sucedidas de cursos e metodologias canadenses, o novo projeto extrapola o n??cleo do servi??o p??blico em Bras??lia, alcan??ando escolas de governo em regi??es brasileiras em situa????o de desvantagem. ?? semelhan??a do papel da CSPS no primeiro projeto, a ENAP fortalecer?? a capacidade das escolas parceiras regionais para capacitar servidores p??blicos envolvidos na presta????o de servi??os aos brasileiros. O interc??mbio estruturado entre Minist??rios dos Governos canadense e brasileiro tamb??m aplicar?? a aprendizagem mais diretamente a quest??es de pol??ticas e programas sociais do Brasil. O desafio assumido neste Projeto ?? a adapta????o de conhecimentos e aprendizagem, com vistas a melhorar a implementa????o de pol??ticas e programas sociais. Para tanto, a CSPS e a ENAP introduzir??o novos cursos nos curr??culos das escolas parceiras e incorporar??o novos m??todos e tecnologias de aprendizagem como, por exemplo, comunidades de pr??tica virtuais e um componente de tutoria (mentoring) envolvendo o Human Resources and Skills Development Canada e o Minist??rio do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate ?? Fome do Brasil. Seis institui????es da Rede Nacional de Escolas de Governo do Brasil e do Programa de Parceria da ENAP foram selecionadas e convidadas a se unir ?? CSPS e ?? ENAP nesse novo Projeto: a Universidade Federal do Par?? (UFPA), de Bel??m (estado do Par?? ??? regi??o Norte); a Funda????o Joaquim Nabuco (FUNDAJ), de Recife (Pernambuco ??? Nordeste); a Universidade Corporativa do Servi??o P??blico / Secretaria de Administra????o do Estado da Bahia (UCS/SAEB), Salvador (Bahia ??? Nordeste); a Escola de Governo do Mato Grosso do Sul (ESCOLAGOV), Campo Grande (estado do Mato Grosso do Sul ??? Centro-Oeste); a Escola Nacional de Ci??ncias Estat??sticas / Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estat??stica (ENCE/IBGE), Rio de Janeiro (estado do Rio de Janeiro ??? Sudeste); e o Instituto Municipal de Administra????o P??blica (IMAP) de Curitiba (Paran?? ??? Sul). Essas escolas de refer??ncia foram escolhidas segundo sua capacidade de trabalhar como p??los de pr??ticas inovadoras em pol??ticas p??blicas e disseminar os benef??cios do Projeto para outras escolas em suas regi??es, por meio da Rede Nacional coordenada pela ENAP. O objetivo dessa parceria ?? fortalecer as escolas de governo locais, para que estas desenvolvam, por meio de eventos de aprendizagem, compet??ncias em servidores p??blicos, a fim de aumentar a capacidade do governo na implementa????o e gest??o de pol??ticas p??blicas. O Plano de Implementa????o do Projeto (PIP) descreve o trabalho a ser realizado por essas institui????es nos pr??ximos 30 meses, ao tempo em que serve de guia para os Parceiros do Projeto no que se refere ??s a????es e aos recursos necess??rios para a obten????o dos resultados acordados. Na medida em que o Projeto estiver em andamento e os parceiros iniciarem um interc??mbio produtivo de conhecimentos, o Plano de Trabalho Anual ser?? atualizado e revisto por meio de reuni??es anuais de avalia????o e encontros do Comit?? Diretor do Projeto, com vistas a assegurar que os resultados descritos no PIP sejam alcan??ados com sucesso

Novos desafios para a capacita????o de lideran??a de alto n??vel na gest??o p??blica e governan??a em um mundo globalizante

Este artigo aborda as mudan??as econ??micas, sociais, ambientais e comportamentais que est??o ocorrendo no planeta, visando a estabelecer um contexto que sirva de base para o tipo de capacita????o mais adequado para os n??veis gerenciais de governo. A partir de tr??s fatores interdependentes ??? globaliza????o, difus??o da democracia e impactos na governan??a ??? ?? proposta uma estrutura de capacita????o, focalizando 12 diferentes ??reas.

Iniciativas or??ament??rias sens??veis ?? quest??o de g??nero: dimens??es chave e exemplos pr??ticos

Este trabalho faz uma breve revis??o sobre as diferentes maneiras de se estruturar uma iniciativa or??ament??ria de g??nero, seja ela elaborada pelo governo ou pela sociedade civil, em n??vel local ou nacional, considerando todo o or??amento ou setores selecionados e dependendo do est??gio do ciclo or??ament??rio em que ela ?? realizada. Este estudo delineia uma estrutura para a an??lise de g??nero de or??amentos, relacionando os insumos ??s atividades, aos resultados e aos impactos e, a partir da??, apresenta alguns exemplos de an??lises de or??amento a partir da perspectiva de g??nero, em diferentes momentos do ciclo or??ament??rio, buscando experi??ncias em diferentes pa??ses. Tamb??m destaca dois princ??pios chave na an??lise do or??amento com enfoque no g??nero, a saber: 1) a avalia????o do impacto do or??amento tanto sobre o indiv??duo como sobre a fam??lia; e 2) o reconhecimento da contribui????o econ??mica do trabalho dom??stico n??o remunerado, a cargo basicamente das mulheres.

Desenvolvimento de compet??ncias de servidores na administra????o p??blica brasileira

Este artigo trata dos desafios de desenvolver as compet??ncias de servidores, de forma a melhorar a capacidade de governo na gest??o das pol??ticas p??blicas no Brasil. Na primeira parte, apresenta as caracter??sticas da administra????o p??blica brasileira em tr??s dimens??es: o modelo de carreiras dos servidores, o tipo de federalismo do Pa??s e o ambiente s??cio-econ??mico em que opera. Em seguida, analisa a nova pol??tica de desenvolvimento de pessoal (Decreto n??5.707/2006), que tem como foco a gest??o por compet??ncias, e o papel da ENAP na forma????o e capacita????o de dirigentes e servidores. Ao final, lan??a um desafio para a administra????o: a constru????o de um servi??o p??blico altamente capacitado e inovador, que atue dentro dos princ??pios da legalidade e da impessoalidade.

"Fugindo do perigo": a pol??tica de reforma administrativa na Argentina de Menem

O presente artigo analisa a pol??tica de reforma administrativa durante os primeiros anos da administra????o Menem, tendo como pano de fundo as medidas de ajuste defendidas pelas institui????es financeiras internacionais em busca da estabiliza????o econ??mica e da reforma do aparelho estatal. Enfoca particularmente a administra????o central do Poder Executivo constitu??da pelos minist??rios e seus ??rg??os descentralizados. Os autores abordam ao lado das medidas concretas adotadas, o jogo pol??tico entre os v??rios atores envolvidos, destacando a hipertrofia da a????o do Executivo como uma das caracter??sticas fundamentais da reforma argentina.