A rogue is a rogue is a rogue: US foreign policy and the Korean nuclear crisis

Two nuclear crises recently haunted the Korean peninsula, one in 1993/4, the other in 2002/3. In each case the events-were strikingly similar: North Korea made public its ambition to acquire nuclear weapons and withdrew from the Nonproliferation Treaty. Then the situation rapidly deteriorated until the peninsular was literally on the verge of war. The dangers of North Korea's actions, often interpreted as nuclear brinkmanship, are evident. and much discussed, but not so the underlying patterns that have shaped the conflict in the first place. This article sheds light on some of them. It examines the role of the United States in the crisis, arguing that Washington's inability to see North Korea as anything but a threatening 'rogue state' seriously hinders both an adequate understanding and possible resolution of the conflict. Particularly significant is the current policy of pre-emptive strikes against rogue states, for it reinforces half a century of American nuclear threats towards North Korea. The problematic role of these threats has been largely obscured, not least because the highly technical discourse of security analysis has managed to present the strategic situation on the peninsula in a manner that attributes responsibility for the crisis solely to North Korea's actions, even if the situation is in reality far more complex and interactive.

Starting out: Quality of working life of young workers in the retail and hospitality industries in Australia

In the 1990s workers in Australia were increasingly subjected to negative work pressures. Irregular work patterns, work intensification, and the transformation of the notion of career, often in the name of ‘flexibility’, were increasingly common. This period was also characterised by scant regard for the quality of working life of young people in entry-level employment, which is often portrayed as a transition stage prior to their admission into the full-time core workforce. This paper explores the experiences of twenty-two young people at the beginning of their careers, in the hospitality and retail industries, with reference to three quality of working life (QWL) elements: hours flexibility, work-life balance and career potential. Qualitative evidence reveals a variety of experiences but, on balance, suggests a negative quality of working life and limited commitment to their current industry. In conclusion, the paper suggests that these industries must pay more attention to QWL issues in order to attract and retain quality staff.

Uncertainty during organizational change: Types, consequences, and management strategies

This research tested a model that classifies change uncertainty into three interrelated types: strategic, structural, and job-related. We predicted that control would mediate the effects of job-related uncertainty upon psychological strain, and that management communication and participation in decision-making (PDM) would reduce uncertainty and increase feelings of control. The model was tested in a public sector organization and the results supported it. Control was found to mediate the effects of job-related uncertainty upon psychological strain. Management communication was negatively related to strategic uncertainty, whereas PDM was negatively related to structural and job-related uncertainty, suggesting different mechanisms to deal with the types of uncertainty during change. Finally, PDM was positively associated with feelings of control and negatively associated with psychological strain. These results suggest that PDM can short-circuit the damaging effects of uncertainty by allowing employees to have a say in change related organizational affairs, thereby instilling a sense of control over their circumstances.

Use of derivatives in public sector organisations

The present paper develops and tests a model explaining public sector derivative use in terms of budget discrepancy minimization. The model is different from private sector models. Private sector models do not readily translate into the public sector, which typically faces different objectives. Hypotheses are developed and tested using logistic regression over a sample of Australian Commonwealth public sector organizations. It is found that public sector organization derivative use is positively correlated with liabilities and size consistent with the hypotheses concerning budget discrepancy management.

Measuring impacts of an holistic farm business management training program

A case study approach within an action research framework incorporating qualitative and quantitative domains was adopted to explore the impact on Queensland farmers of a farm business management extension programme. Three new indices were developed to quantify changes perceived by participants. The first measure, the Bennett Change Index, provided statistically significant evidence that attitudinal and behavioural changes were more frequent in participants with less formal education, but also more frequent in participants who had high urbanisation and self-directed learning index scores. The other 2 new indices, Management Constructs Change and Management Objectives Change, provided evidence of statistically significant changes in participant beliefs about, and attitudes towards, farm business management. Although highly correlated with each other, these changes were unrelated statistically to any of 6 other commonly used biographical or psychometric indices employed; including level of formal education. It is concluded that these new measures, with context-relevant modifications, have potential as aids to programme impact evaluation in a range of agricultural and wider applications. They may provide insights into personal psychological issues that complement direct behavioural measures of change.

Constraints to organizational learning during major change at a mental health services facility

This paper explains what happened during a three years long qualitative study at a mental health services organization. The study focuses on differences between espoused theory and theory in use during the implementation of a new service delivery model. This major organizational change occurred in a National policy environment of major health budget cutbacks. Primarily as a result of poor resourcing provided to bring about policy change and poor implementation of a series of termination plans, a number of constraints to learning contributed to the difficulties in implementing the new service delivery model. The study explores what occurred during the change process. Rather than blame participants of change for the poor outcomes, the study is set in a broader context of a policy environment—that of major health cutbacks.