Effectiveness of national elite sport policies : a multidimensional approach applied to the case of Flanders

While the results of nations in international sport competitions are most often used as an evaluation of effectiveness of elite sport policies, they do not take into account the long-term duration of an athletic career, nor the many confounding variables influencing international success. This paper argues that output evaluation is a one-sided approach to policy assessment. It applies a multidimensional approach to the measurement of the effectiveness of elite sports policy evaluation (meso-level) by examining a four-year cycle of elite sport policies in Flanders. This study endeavors to advance the development of a framework to assess effectiveness of elite sport policies of nations. Data were collected at multiple points of the input-throughput-output and feedback cycle. It was found that in spite of the increasing elite sport expenditures in Flanders (inputs), and notwithstanding the development of the throughputs (processes), this has not as yet lead to acceptable results (outputs) at an international level.<br />

Accuracy of national mortality codes in identifying adjudicated cardiovascular deaths

<b>Objective</b>: This study investigated the sensitivity and specificity of the national mortality codes in identifying cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths and documents methods of verification.<br /><br /><b>Methods</b>: A 12-year retrospective case ascertainment of all ICD-coded CVD deaths was performed for deaths between 1990 and 2002 in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, comprising 41,528 subjects. Categories of non-CVD codes were also examined. Stratified samples of 750 deaths were adjudicated from a total of 2,230 deaths. Expert panels of cardiologists and neurologists adjudicated deaths.<br /><br /><b>Results</b>: Of the 750 deaths adjudicated, 582 were verified as CVD [392 coronary heart disease (CHD) and 92 stroke] and 168 non-CVD. Estimated sensitivity and specificity of national mortality codes for identifying specific causes of death were: CHD 74.2% (95% CI: 69.8&ndash;78.5%) and 97.6% (96.0&ndash;99.2%), respectively; myocardial infarction 59.9% (50.9&ndash;69.0%) and 94.2% (92.4&ndash;96.0%), respectively; haemorrhagic stroke 58.9% (46.0&ndash;71.7%) and 99.8% (99.4&ndash;100.0%), respectively and; ischaemic stroke 38.7% (20.5&ndash;56.9%) and 99.9% (99.6&ndash;100.0%), respectively. Misclassification was most common for deaths with primary ICD codes for endocrine-metabolic and genito-urinary diseases.<br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b>: National mortality coding under-estimated the true proportion of CHD and stroke deaths in the cohort by 13.6% and 50.8%, respectively.<br />

Exploring the global and local networks of national information system integration initiatives : a case study of national cultural collection integration from an actor-network perspective

Australian Museums Online (AMOL) was the earliest attempt to make Australia&rsquo;s distributed cultural collections accessible from a single online resource. Despite early successes, significant achievements and the considerable value it offered certain groups, the project ran into operational difficulties and was eventually discontinued. By using Actor-Network Theory and analysing the global and local actor-networks, it is revealed that although the project originated from large, state museums, buy-in was restricted to individuals, rather than institutions and the most significant value was for smaller, regional institutions. Furthermore, although the global networks that governed the project could translate their visions through the local production networks, because the network&rsquo;s underlying weaknesses were never addressed, over time this destablised the global networks. This case study offers advice for projects attempting to consolidate data sources from disparate sources, and highlights the importance of individual actors in championing the project.<br />

The evolution of national level historic district registration and conservation in China: the Beijing Yandaixiejie and Beijing Guozijian districts in Beijing, China

From the 1980s, Chinese experts from some mainland universities, such as Tongji Universtiy in Shanghai and Tsinghua University in Beijing, commenced research into heritage management and historic architectural conservation in China. With the announcement of the First and Second Lists of 10 Chinese Historic and Cultural Districts in 2009 and 2010, the conservation of historic districts was generally received and elevated in agreements from state-level government to local level governments. This paper considers literature about international and Chinese regulations and presents the evolution of historic district conservation in China. The paper explores the effective and ineffective results of the &ldquo;Selection Contest of Chinese Top 10 Historic and Cultural Districts&rdquo; in two cases selected from the First and Second Lists of 10 Chinese Historical and Cultural Districts during upon recent research and investigations. In each example, the paper provides a detailed examination of public awareness and their evaluation of conservation effectiveness through questionnaires.

Patterns and correlates of self-reported racial discrimination among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, 2008–09: analysis of national survey data

<b>Background</b><br />There is now considerable evidence that racism is a pernicious and enduring social problem with a wide range of detrimental outcomes for individuals, communities and societies. Although indigenous people worldwide are subjected to high levels of racism, there is a paucity of population-based, quantitative data about the factors associated with their reporting of racial discrimination, about the settings in which such discrimination takes place, and about the frequency with which it is experienced. Such information is essential in efforts to reduce both exposure to racism among indigenous people and the harms associated with such exposure.<br /><br /><b>Methods</b><br />Weighted data on self-reported racial discrimination from over 7,000 Indigenous Australian adults participating in the 2008&ndash;09 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey, a nationally representative survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, were analysed by socioeconomic, demographic and cultural factors.<br /><br /><b>Results</b><br />More than one in four respondents (27%) reported experiencing racial discrimination in the past year. Racial discrimination was most commonly reported in public (41% of those reporting any racial discrimination), legal (40%) and work (30%) settings. Among those reporting any racial discrimination, about 40% experienced this discrimination most or all of the time (as opposed to a little or some of the time) in at least one setting. Reporting of racial discrimination peaked in the 35&ndash;44 year age group and then declined. Higher reporting of racial discrimination was associated with removal from family, low trust, unemployment, having a university degree, and indicators of cultural identity and participation. Lower reporting of racial discrimination was associated with home ownership, remote residence and having relatively few Indigenous friends.<br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b><br />These data indicate that racial discrimination is commonly experienced across a wide variety of settings, with public, legal and work settings identified as particularly salient. The observed relationships, while not necessarily causal, help to build a detailed picture of self-reported racial discrimination experienced by Indigenous people in contemporary Australia, providing important evidence to inform anti-racism policy.

Jinkhin Mongol/True Mongolian: Mongolian museums and the construction of national identity

&nbsp;This dissertation examined the history of museums in Mongolia and their fate in the post socialist period. The work ultimately identified that while museums have sought to contribute to historical revisionism, they have been heavily influenced by politics, international cultural diplomacy and by popular notions of national identity.