Raising the profile of public health ethics in Australia : time for debate

This paper argues for greater dialogue on public health ethics. There has been little discussion in Australia about the significant ethical dilemmas in this field, and there is no agreed framework for analysing and responding to these challenges. We highlight concerns about the suitability of biomedical principles-based ethics for public health, and encourage public health professionals in this country to reflect on ethical challenges in public health research. A focus on research ethics concerns will deliver concrete examples demonstrating the need for a public health ethics frame work. Recommendations are offered for how public health ethics promotion may occur locally.

Ideological hegemony and professional organisation of public accountants in China

This thesis examines the development of the Chinese public accounting profession during the post-Mao era of the 1980s and 1990s. The success of the public accountants in accomplishing professional status within society is found to be closely linked to the ideological influence and the political agenda of the state leaders.

Analysis of public housing standards in Victoria : 1939-1995

The "housing standard" is a government policy document which defines minimum dwelling standards. This thesis outlines the development of public housing standards in Victoria between 1939 and 1995. The Hotham Housing Estate, North Melbourne, was the case study from which a proposed framework for critical analysis of minimum housing standards was derived.

Government involvement in entrepreneurship and new business creation in Australia : a quantitative analysis of public perceptions and opinions

In order to determine the range of Australian perceptions on new venture creation at the end of the decade of the 1980s, and in particular attitudes towards government involvement in fostering entrepreneurship, a major quantitative study was conducted. The survey involved more than 1500 Australians in face-to-face interviews (300 in each mainland capital city) chosen on a random basis.

An analysis of the data provides an assessment of the Australian general public&s perceptions in three key areas: their understanding of the word 'entrepreneur' their rating of importance of new venture creation; their belief in government involvement in fostering new venture creation.

It is believed to be the first study attempting to quantify an entire nation&s perceptions in three areas vital to creators of national economic and industry policies.

Public policy and USM : an approach to fit a renewed sense of public purpose

Malaysian Higher educational reform is an important and central aspect of the broader Malaysian public policy focus on excellence, development and national growth. This proposed paper intends to discuss analyze and critique the APEX program for Malaysian Universities. In particular the paper will investigate and discuss the way Universiti Sains Malaysia has interpreted and developed its strategic goals in light of its award of APEX status. Specifically I intend to discuss the strengths and limitations of the Universiti Sains Malaysia agenda, and contextualize it within a broader discussion about the directions of Malaysian Higher Education, in conditions of globalization, network society, and the knowledge economy. The challenges faced by the reform agenda at USM are significant and it is important that any understanding of the USM agenda be informed by deep reflection on the underlying philosophical aims and justifications for its direction. In this way my paper will attempt to show how the USM project is both an important part of Malaysian national development and a critical response to contemporary globalization, while at the same time an innovative and challenging intervention into public policy debate in Higher Education. The values and objectives of USM in regards to its strategic reorientation have implications far beyond the Higher Education sector and these implications will also be discussed.

Perceptions of representatives of public, private, and community sector institutions of the barriers and enablers for physically active transport

Active transport bridges many shared concerns in the public health and transport sectors. To positively affect opportunities for active transport, public health and transport professionals are engaging with other sectors, including urban planning, housing, recreation, retail, education, and employer groups. A first step in such inter-sectoral collaboration is to understand the perceptions of key players in all of these sectors. This paper describes the results of structured interviews with senior and middle-level administrators from public, private, and community groups in a rapidly developing region in Queensland, Australia, to assess the perceived barriers and enablers to active transport. Key themes emerged relating to infrastructure delivery, public transport services, walk- and cycle-friendly community attributes, political leadership and government coordination, and societal travel norms and culture. There were also themes relating to limits due to resources and limited relevant technical expertise, institutional and practitioner cultures, and agencies not identifying with their roles in active transport. Policies and cross-government initiatives were seen to hold promise, including economic incentives and built environment guidelines, campaigns targeting public attitudes and opinions, and community participation in policy-making. These elements are potential keys to positively promoting comprehensive active transport initiatives among gatekeepers and leaders across different sectors.

International operations strategy of public sector organisations

Public sector organisations in many countries are internationalising their operations into other countries. This internationalisation frequently follows channels such as aid schemes offered by the country's government. An investigation was conducted to determine whether the four categories of stJ'ategy approach in Miles and Snow's typology could be used to categorise the internationalisation operation strategy approach of Australian public sector organisations. Qualitative data collected from eight Australian public sector organisations determined that a set of nine operations strategy dimensions identified from the literature applied to the internationalisation behaviours of Australian public sector organisations. The data also indicated that Miles and Snow's four categories of strategy could be used to describe the combined international operation strategy behaviours of Australian public sector organisations. In addition, it was found that the international operation strategy behaviours of Australian public sector organisations aligned with at least two (and in one case four) of Miles and Snow's strategy categories. Alignment with two of Miles and Snow's strategy categories was quite commonly identified in other empirical studies of this typology.

The making of public space in Haiphong, Vietnam

The research examined the making of Haiphong public space. It found that Haiphong's people and the authorities often had different public space interests and that this divergence caused serious planning and usage problems. A public space protection proposal was recommended to maintain and enhance public space qualities.

Public policy and USM : an approach to fit a renewed sense of public purpose

Malaysian Higher educational reform is an important and central aspect of the broader Malaysian public policy focus on excellence, development and national growth. This proposed paper intends to discuss analyze and critique the APEX program for Malaysian Universities. In particular the paper will investigate and discuss the way Universiti Sains Malaysia has interpreted and developed its strategic goals in light of its award of APEX status. Specifically I intend to discuss the strengths and limitations of the Universiti Sains Malaysia agenda, and contextualize it within a broader discussion about the directions of Malaysian Higher Education, in conditions of globalization, network society, and the knowledge economy. The challenges faced by the reform agenda at USM are significant and it is important that any understanding of the USM agenda be informed by deep reflection on the underlying philosophical aims and justifications for its direction. In this way my paper will attempt to show how the USM project is both an important part of Malaysian national development and a critical response to contemporary globalization, while at the same time an innovative and challenging intervention into public policy debate in Higher Education. The values and objectives of USM in regards to its strategic reorientation have implications far beyond the Higher Education sector and these implications will also be discussed.

The use of public transport in coastal Australia : modes of travel to work and greenhouse emissions

Commuting to work is one of the most important and regular routines of transportation in towns and cities. From a geographic perspective, the length of people’s commute is influenced, to some degree, by the spatial separation of their home and workplace and the transport infrastructure. The rise of car ownership in Australia from the 1950s to the present was accompanied by a considerable decrease of public transport use. Currently there is an average of 1.4 persons per car in Australia, and private cars are involved in approximately 90% of the trips, and public transportation in only 10%. Increased personal mobility has fuelled the trend of decentralised housing development, mostly without a clear planning for local employment, or alternative means of transportation. Transport sector accounts for 14% of Australia’s net greenhouse gas emissions. Without further policy action, Australia’s emissions are projected to continue to increase. The Australian Federal Government and the new Department of Climate Change have recently published a set of maps showing that rising seas would submerge large parts of Victoria coastal region. Such event would lead to major disruption in planned urban growth areas in the next 50 years with broad scale inundation of dwellings, facilities and road networks. The Greater Geelong Region has well established infrastructure as a major urban centre and tourist destination and hence attracted the attention of federal and state governments in their quest for further development and population growth. As a result of its natural beauty and ecological sensitivity, scenarios for growth in the region are currently under scrutiny from local government as well as development agencies, scientists, and planners. This paper is part of a broad research in the relationship between transportation system, urban form, trip demand, and emissions, as a paramount in addressing the challenges presented by urban growth. Progressing from previous work focused on private cars, this present paper investigates the use of public transport as a mode for commuting in the Greater Geelong Region. Using a GIS based interaction model, it characterises the current use of the existing public transportation system, and also builds a scenario of increased use of the existing public transportation system, estimating potencial reductions in CO2 emissions. This study provides an improved understanding of the extent to which choices of transport mode and travel activity patterns, affect emissions in the context of regional networks. The results indicate that emissions from commuting by public transportation are significantly lower than those from commuting by private car, and emphasise that there are opportunities for large abatment in the greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector related to efforts in increasing the use of existing public transportation system.