Distant relations : limits to relational contracting in domestic violence programmes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of relational contract theory in situations where government departments contract with non-government welfare organisations to deliver human service programmes. Its limits are highlighted by an assessment of programmes for domestically violent men that epitomise “management of incomplete contracts” central to the theory.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an evaluation of contracted-out programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence in Australia that set out to compare and contrast distinct models of service delivery by documenting programme logic, service delivery effectiveness and effects on programme participants. It reflects on the difficulties of monitoring such programmes and considers the implications of this for contracting theory and for human service practice.

Findings – In contrast to critiques of contracting-out in a neo-liberal environment that emphasise how accountability and reporting requirements limit the autonomy of contracted agencies, this paper highlights considerable variation in how programmes were managed and delivered despite standardised service delivery contracts developed by the government department funding the programmes. This leads to a consideration of “incomplete contracts” where service delivery outcomes are hard to measure or there is limited knowledge of the contracted agencies by the contracting government department.

Originality/value – The paper highlights a situation in which the recommendations of relational contracting theory can exacerbate the difficulties of quality assurance rather than minimise them. It then argues a need for workforce development in the government departments and the contracted agencies, to enable a nuanced monitoring of the programmes' service delivery and promotion of quality assurance processes.

More appraisal please : a commentary on Pfaff et al. (2007) 'Relations between mechanisms of CNS arousal and mechanisms of stress'

This article provides a brief commentary on Pfaff et al's timely review of the relations between mechanisms of CNS arousal and mechanisms of stress. Pfaff and colleagues use the review as a platform to propose the existence of a coherent stress-arousal state. We suggest that this proposal is, on a number of grounds, flawed. In turn, we counter that the while the states of stress and arousal are related they are as entities fundamentally separate. Moreover, we propose that any productive attempt to unite the two states must acknowledge the importance of and therefore centrally include higher order integrative phenomena, such as, appraisal.

Deduction of high level spatial relations

The problem of deriving spatial relationships between objects in general requires high level abstract representation, and it would pose difficulties even for human observer. Based on a formalism for spatial layouts proposed earlier [KiV92, VeK921, we present methods for deducing high level spatial relations between objects by an active, sighted agent in a large-scale environment. The deduction of spatial relations is based on simple visual clues, and thus this technique is more feasible than schemes that rely on complex object recognition.

Deriving ambiguous spatial relations

Qualitative and relational representations of space offer a new and powerful approach to reasoning. This type of approach introduces ambiguity where there would be none in quantitative methodologies. This paper provides mechanisms for coping with ambiguity and gives examples of using these mechanisms for reasoning about space.

Vested interests in addiction research and policy alcohol industry use of social aspect public relations organizations against preventative health measures

Aim It has been proposed that alcohol industry ‘social aspects/public relations’ organizations (SAPROs) serve the agenda of lending credibility to industry claims of corporate responsibility while promoting ineffective industry-friendly interventions (such as school-based education or TV advertising campaigns) and creating doubt about interventions which have a strong evidence base (such as higher taxes on alcoholic beverages). This paper investigated whether submissions to Australia's National Preventative Health Taskforce (NPHT) from alcohol industry bodies regarding the Australian SAPRO, Drinkwise, have used this organization to demonstrate corporate responsibility while promoting industry-friendly interventions.

Method Submissions to the Australian National Preventative Health Taskforce (NPHT) discussion paper Australia, the healthiest country by 2020 (n = 375) were examined to identify those with primary alcohol content. A thematic analysis of the resulting 33 submissions was conducted to determine which organization, institution or individual discussed Drinkwise.

Setting Australia.

Findings Nine of the 33 submissions discussed Drinkwise; all were submitted by the alcohol industry or its affiliates. Every industry submission referred to Drinkwise either as providing evidence of social responsibility or by suggesting the industry-friendly actions of Drinkwise as alternatives to those recommended by the NPHT report.

Conclusions Drinkwise has been used by the alcohol industry to create an impression of social responsibility while promoting interventions that maintain profits and campaigning against effective interventions such as higher taxes on alcohol.

Pakistan-China bilateral relations 2001-2011 : a deepening but cautious partnership

Last year (2011) marked the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. The bilateral relationship has deepened significantly since 1951, with both countries benefiting from this relationship. However, Pakistan would like to deepen it even further, while China is more pragmatic and cautious. There are irritants, notably the killing of Chinese citizens, the presence of Uighur militants in Pakistan and their different interests in Afghanistan, which could put some stress on the relationship. While the relationship will continue to grow, China is not about to displace the US as Pakistan’s major economic and military aid provider.

Power relations in IS projects – a critical review and a new research agenda

This paper seeks to review and examine the major theoretical underpinnings of research into power relations in IS projects. In order to keep the review manageable and to furnish a reasonable explanation of the ideas and papers referenced, the review is restricted to the ideas of Foucault, Giddens and Clegg. Partly, this restriction was due to the wish of the authors to deal seriously with the ideas presented, and not to produce an exhaustive but terse and taxonomic style review. Partly, the selection of the above theorists is due to the fact that the major IS papers on power relations have drawn on their work. This paper concludes with the presentation of a new theory of power and social influence from social psychology suitable for use in IS research. The ideas of this theory have not yet been examined empirically. Thus, IS researchers are challenged to employ these ideas in their empirical research.

Re-examining human-nonhuman relations among nomads of Eastern Tibet

In this paper, I explore how human-nonhuman relations among nomads of Eastern Tibet may be understood within the framework of a four-fold ontological system proposed by anthropologist, Philippe Descola. In what follows, I provide an account of Descola’s theoretical system, present ethnographic data on human-nonhuman relations from fieldwork with two nomadic communities in Eastern Tibet, and analyze these in light of Descola’s system. I argue that deep ethnographic engagement with and analysis of humannonhuman relations not only furthers our understanding of specific communities but also informs the politics around policies concerned with ‘the environment’.