bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Role of Stock Markets in the Asian‐Pacific Region
Authors: Naughton Tony
Published: March 2003

This paper identifies the role of stock markets in developing economies with a focus on the Asian‐Pacific region. The region’s markets generally do not play a major role in resource allocation. The stock exchanges of the region are primarily secondary markets facilitating portfolio construction by domestic and international investors. The paper concentrates on secondary market activity and the controls regulators use to contain excessive speculation and price volatility. It also covers the role of stock markets in the recent financial crisis in the region.
The Development of the Economy of Taiwan
Authors: Kuo Shirley W. Y. , Liu Christina Y.
Published: March 2003

The development of the Taiwanese economy over the past five decades was manifested in rapid growth, export expansion, stable prices, full employment, and relatively equitable income distribution. In this development, the government has played an important role. This paper sets out to report the important features of the Taiwanese economy during the post‐war period to 1998, and to examine the policies which crucially contributed to its successful development.
Governance and Growth: Lessons from the Asian Economic Crisis
Authors: Haggard Stephan
Published: March 2003

The East Asian financial crisis of 1997‐98 has provoked yet another round of controversy on the institutional foundations of the region’s growth. This article provides some flavour of this new work by examining three factors that impinge on economic policy and performance: the role of political regime type; the structure of business‐government relations; and the design of government agencies. Institutional weaknesses contributed to the onset of the Asian financial crisis.
Vietnam's Economy, After the Asian Economic Crisis
Authors: Xuan Truong Do
Published: March 2003

The year 1989 marked an important turning point in Vietnam: the market mechanism began to take the place of centrally‐planned resource allocation. To secure sustainable economic growth at a high level, Vietnam needs further comprehensive reform towards a market economy. The paper argues that the Asian crisis should not be blamed for the recent slowing of the economy. It also raises some other questions, in particular whether the government is still trying to fit the market mechanism into a socialist model.
Nonlinear Autoregression with Positive Innovations
Authors: Datta Somnath , McCormick William P. , Mathew George
Published: March 2003

Use of nonlinear models in analyzing time series data is becoming increasingly popular. This paper considers a broad class of nonlinear autoregressive models where the autoregressive part is additive and the terms are nonlinear functions of the past data. Also, the innovation distribution is supported on the non‐negative reals and satisfies a tail regularity condition. The linear parameters of the autoregression are estimated using a linear programming recipe which yields much more accurate estimates than traditional methods such as conditional least squares. Limiting distribution of the linear programming estimators is obtained. Simulation studies validate the asymptotic results and reveal excellent small sample properties of the LPE estimator.
Theory and Methods: Influence Diagnostics for Simultaneous Equations Models
Authors: Zhao Yuejen , Lee Andy H.
Published: March 2003

This paper presents influence diagnostics for simultaneous equations models. It proposes residuals, leverage and other influence measures. A missing data method is adopted to minimize the masking effect due to case deletions. The assessment of local influence is also considered. The paper shows how to evaluate the effects that perturbations to the endogenous variables, predetermined variables and case weights may have on the parameter estimates. The diagnostics are illustrated with two examples.
Theory & Methods: Profile upper Confidence Limits from Discrete Data
Authors: Kabaila Paul , Lloyd Chris J.
Published: March 2003

When the data are discrete, standard approximate confidence limits often have coverage well below nominal for some parameter values. While ad hoc adjustments may largely solve this problem for particular cases, Kabaila & Lloyd (1997) gave a more systematic method of adjustment which leads to tight upper limits, which have coverage which is never below nominal and are as small as possible within a particular class. However, their computation for all but the simplest models is infeasible. This paper suggests modifying tight upper limits by an initial replacement of the unknown nuisance parameter vector by its profile maximum likelihood estimator. While the resulting limits no longer possess the optimal properties of tight limits exactly, the paper presents both numerical and theoretical evidence that the resulting coverage function is close to optimal. Moreover these profileupper limits are much (possibly many orders of magnitude) easier to compute than tight upper limits.
Theory & Methods: A Note on Robustness of the β‐Trimmed Mean
Authors: Clarke Brenton R. , Gamble David K. , Bednarski Tadeusz
Published: March 2003

Qualitative robustness of the β‐trimmed mean has already been observed in terms of relative efficiency and weak continuity of that estimator in neighbourhoods of the exponential distribution. Two more robustness considerations are given here in favour of the β‐trimmed mean: the statistical functional representing this estimator is Fréchet differentiable; and it is a special case of the trimmed likelihood estimator. Further, simulations suggest that a fixed proportion of trimming is preferable to adaptive estimation in this case.
Parameter Estimation for Bivariate Shock Models with Singular Distribution for Censored Data with Concomitant Order Statistics
Authors: Chen Di , Lu Jye‐Chyi , Li Chin‐Shang , Park Jinho
Published: March 2003

When two‐component parallel systems are tested, the data consist of Type‐II censored data X(i), i= 1, n, from one component, and their concomitants Y [i] randomly censored at X(r), the stopping time of the experiment. Marshall & Olkin's (1967) bivariate exponential distribution is used to illustrate statistical inference procedures developed for this data type. Although this data type is motivated practically, the likelihood is complicated, and maximum likelihood estimation is difficult, especially in the case where the parameter space is a non‐open set. An iterative algorithm is proposed for finding maximum likelihood estimates. This article derives several properties of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) including existence, uniqueness, strong consistency and asymptotic distribution. It also develops an alternative estimation method with closed‐form expressions based on marginal distributions, and derives its asymptotic properties. Compared with variances of the MLEs in the finite and large sample situations, the alternative estimator performs very well, especially when the correlation between X and Y is small.
Theory & Methods: On Estimators of Scale and Dispersion in Neighbourhoods ofParametric Families
Authors: Lee S.J.
Published: March 2003

This paper investigates two estimators under the non‐parametric neighbourhoods of an exponential scale parametric family. It uses the relative efficiency approach and shows that the tighter lower bounds on the relative efficiency of the upper trimmed mean to mean can be obtained under a sufficient condition. This condition gives the relationship between the possible positive lower bound and the degree of asymmetry of some related distributions. Similar arguments can be applied to the comparison of dispersion estimators under the neighbourhoods of a normal distribution.
Comparison of Two Methods for Calculating the Partition Functions of Various Spatial Statistical Models
Authors: Huang Fuchun , Ogata Yosihiko
Published: March 2003

Likelihood computation in spatial statistics requires accurate and efficient calculation of the normalizing constant (i.e. partition function) of the Gibbs distribution of the model. Two available methods to calculate the normalizing constant by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are compared by simulation experiments for an Ising model, a Gaussian Markov field model and a pairwise interaction point field model.
Applications: The Analysis of Crop Variety Evaluation Data in Australia
Authors: Smith Alison , Cullis Brian , Gilmour Arthur
Published: March 2003

The major aim of crop variety evaluation is to predict the future performance of varieties. This paper presents the routine statistical analysis of data from late‐stage testing of crop varieties in Australia. It uses a two‐stage approach for analysis. The data from individual trials from the current year are analysed using spatial techniques. The resultant table of variety‐by‐trial means is combined with tables from previous years to form the data for an overall mixed model analysis. Weights allow for the data being estimates with varying accuracy. In view of the predictive aim of the analysis, variety effects and interactions are regarded as random effects. Appropriate inferential tools have been developed to assist with interpretation of the results. Analyses must be conducted in a timely manner so that variety predictions can be published and disseminated to growers immediately after harvest each year. Factors which facilitate this include easy access to historic data and the use of specialist mixed model software.
Applications: The Surrogate Henderson Filters in X‐11
Authors: Doherty Mike
Published: March 2003

This paper explains the surrogate Henderson filters that are used in the X‐11 variant of the Census Method II seasonal adjustment program to obtain trends at the ends of time series. It describes a prediction interpretation for these surrogate filters, justifies an approximation to the filters, proposed by Kenny & Durbin (1982), and proposes a further interpretation of the results. The starting point for the paper is unpublished work by Musgrave (1964a, 1964b). His work has continuing relevance to current seasonal adjustment practice. This paper makes that work generally available for the first time, and reviews and extends it.
Applications: Harold Silverstone: A Perspective
Authors: Vere‐Jones David , MacKinnon Murray J. , Silverstone Brian
Published: March 2003

This paper is a perspective on the scientific contributions of the politically controversial New Zealand‐born statistician Harold Silverstone (1915‐74). His scientific work — including a classic paper on minimum variance with A.C. Aitken — produced some key results in estimation theory. He also contributed significantly to the practical application of statistics, particularly the development of statistical consulting services in medicine.
Theory & Methods: Recovering Information from Incremental Responses
Authors: Jensen D.R.
Published: March 2003

Some yields analysed and reported in the literature have been adjusted by subtracting a control. It is found that full information can be recovered for estimable parameters and the error variance using these incremental responses, in comparison with unadjusted data. These findings are of practical importance, and they supplement materials usually found in a graduate course in linear inference. The issues are illustrated using a case study from the literature.
Theory & Methods: Bayesian estimates in a one‐way ANOVA random effects model
Authors: Bian Guorui
Published: March 2003

Bayesian estimators of variance components are developed, based on posterior mean and posterior mode, respectively, in a one‐way ANOVA random effects model with independent prior distributions. The formulas for the proposed estimators are simple. The estimators give sensible results for ‘badly‐behaved’ datasets, where the standard unbiased estimates are negative. They are markedly robust as compared to the existing estimators such as the maximum likelihood estimators and the maximum posterior density estimators.
Theory & Methods: A zero‐augmented gamma mixed model for longitudinal data with many zeros
Authors: Yau Kelvin K.W. , Lee Andy H. , Ng Angus S.K.
Published: March 2003

In many occupational safety interventions, the objective is to reduce the injury incidence as well as the mean claims cost once injury has occurred. The claims cost data within a period typically contain a large proportion of zero observations (no claim). The distribution thus comprises a point mass at 0 mixed with a non‐degenerate parametric component. Essentially, the likelihood function can be factorized into two orthogonal components. These two components relate respectively to the effect of covariates on the incidence of claims and the magnitude of claims, given that claims are made. Furthermore, the longitudinal nature of the intervention inherently imposes some correlation among the observations. This paper introduces a zero‐augmented gamma random effects model for analysing longitudinal data with many zeros. Adopting the generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) approach reduces the original problem to the fitting of two independent GLMMs. The method is applied to evaluate the effectiveness of a workplace risk assessment teams program, trialled within the cleaning services of a Western Australian public hospital.
Theory & Methods: A Diagnostic Method for Principal Components Tests
Authors: Jung Kang–Mo
Published: March 2003

The local influence method is adapted to testing hypotheses about principal components for investigating the influence of observations on the test statistic. Simultaneous perturbations on all observations are considered. The main diagnostic is the direction vector of the maximum slope of the surface formed by the perturbed test statistic. A perturbation is constructed whose result is the same as that of the influence function method. An example is given for illustration.
Theory & Methods: On Efron’s Parameterization
Authors: Kumagai Etsuo , Inagaki Nobuo , Inoue Kiyoshi
Published: March 2003

This paper discusses a curved exponential family of distributions which is defined by a differential equation with respect to the expectation parameters in the two–dimensional exponential family. The differential equation considered here is the same as the one given by Efron (1975) for the trinomial distribution. This equation is extended here to a general exponential family, and called Efron’s parameterization in the two–dimensional exponential family. The solution of Efron’s parameterization is obtained explicitly in an exponential family, although Kumagai & Inagaki (1996) showed that there exists no proper solution of Efron’s equation for the trinomial distribution, in line with the counterexample given by Efron (1975 p. 1206). The paper gives some characterizations of Efron’s parameterization with special reference to Fisher’s circle model. The implications of these characterizations are the two–dimensional normal distribution and a spiral curve in the plane.
Theory & Methods: Ordered Tests for Right–Censored Survival Data
Authors: Chi Yunchan
Published: March 2003

In comparative clinical trials or animal carcinogenesis studies, the effect of increasing dose levels of an agent or an increasing number of additional modalities are frequently evaluated on the prolonged survival time of patients with a particular disease. It is of particular interest to test the ordered alternative that a treatment level increase leads to better survival. This paper considers an ordered test based on the two–sample weighted Kaplan–Meier statistics (Pepe & Fleming, 1989, 1991). It evaluates asymptotic relative efficiencies of the proposed ordered weighted Kaplan–Meier test, the competing ordered weighted logrank test (Liu et al., 1993) and modified ordered logrank test (Liu & Tsai, 1999) under Lehmann alternatives, for various piecewise exponential survival distributions. Finally, it demonstrates the proposed test on an appropriate dataset.
A Comment on Yin, Xiangkang and Yew‐Kwang Ng: Quantity Precommitment and Bertrand Competition Yield Cournot Outcomes: A Case with Product Differentiation
Authors: Schulz Norbert
Published: March 2003

This comment points out a gap in the proof of Theorem 2 contained in the paper by Yin and Ng. It is shown that the price reaction functions in their modelling approach are not continuous for all capacity subgames, contradicting the claim of Lemma 1. Possible remedies are suggested.
Assisted Emigration from Northern Germany to South Australia in the Nineteenth Century
Authors: Vollmer Renate
Published: March 2003

Between 1848 and 1854, the Kingdom of Hanover financed emigration from the Harz mountains to South Australia. The scheme employed was exceptional; emigrants received interest‐free loans and only those with a "good character" were eligible, not the destitute, criminal or "undesirable". Emigration was voluntary. The decision of the Hanoverian government to assist emigration was influenced by socio‐economic developments in the Harz. Most emigrants were young, employed in mining, and of limited means. In Australia the Harz emigrants constituted about fifteen per cent of all German immigrants in the mid‐nineteenth century. They settled throughout South Australia and Victoria but few joined German communities. The settlement and naturalisation patterns, occupations and marriage patterns of the Harz immigrants in Australia indicate that, as a group, they differed from other nineteenth century German immigrants.
From an Italian Swiss Valley to Australia: A Study on Emigration and the Home Community
Authors: Templeton Jacqueline
Published: March 2003

This paper discusses the origins of the emigration to Australia from a small and enclosed Swiss valley, the Poschiavo Valley in Canton Grigioni (the Grisons), in the 1850s. It argues that those left at home were a part of the same migration experience, and seeks, through the pages of a local newspaper, to direct attention to the question of how those emigrations were felt in home communities. It suggests that the emigration flow, although numerically small, and acknowledged as a necessity for survival, was traumatic, because the emigrants went beyond the recognised world of the Poschiavini, and threatened disintegration of traditional life and values.
"A Very Present Menace"? Attlee, Communism and the Cold War!
Authors: Deery Phillip
Published: March 2003

With the end of the Cold War and the further opening of archives, the role of Western communist parties and their relationship with the former Soviet Union has been the subject of fresh scrutiny. This article examines the conviction of the British Labour Government and its security services that the Communist Party of Great Britain represented, at least in the early Cold War period, a "very present menace". The article discusses the policies of the Soviet Union in Europe and the Communist Party in Britain and explores how these shaped the perspectives of the Attlee Government, especially during the London dock strike of 1949. When placed against this background, Attlee’s anti‐communism can no longer be accepted, as most commentators do, as simply a product of Cold War paranoia.
The Italians in Europe
Authors: Mancini G. Federico
Published: March 2003

Given Italy's reputation for fiscal profligacy, the zeal with which Italians strove to meet the strict budgetary and other criteria to qualify for full participation in European Monetary Union might be in need of explanation. On a wider front, Italy has displayed an enthusiasm for European integration which has been largely free of the reservations occasionally shown by member‐states of comparable size and importance. This paper considers explanations which have been advanced for Italians' pro‐European attitude, such as Catholic universalism and Roman imperial traditions, but rejects them as insufficient, in order to argue that the modern experience of the nation‐state in Italy has failed to produce a strong sense of allegiance to a national identity, encouraging Italians to look to the European level of supranational institutions. Furthermore, it is argued that this lack of strong national allegiance in Italy is not simply a negative characteristic, but has allowed for the preservation of traditions of localism, federalism and social partnership in Italy which are potentially valuable contributions to a future configuration of the European Union.
Playing with Princes and Presidents: Sir Frank Packer and the 1962 Challenge for the America's Cup
Authors: Griffen‐Foley Bridget
Published: March 2003

1959 Sir Frank Packer decided to launch Australia's first bid for the America's Cup, the coveted trophy that had remained in the hands of the New York Yacht Club for over a century. Well before the Australian yacht Gretel arrived in Newport in 1962, the syndicate was embroiled in controversy. This article, based on previously overlooked archival records in Sydney and New York, explores the geo‐political dimensions of the challenge. It considers the diplomatic fracas that arose when Britain learned of Australia's plans; the Menzies government's attitude to the challenge; Labor and newspaper criticisms of the Australian bid; and American and Australian responses to the vigorous but unsuccessful challenge mounted by Packer and his crew in Newport in 1962.
Beer and Skittles? Workers and Culture in Early Twentieth‐Century Germany
Authors: Geary Dick
Published: March 2003

This paper begins by examining the cultural practices of the large workers' leisure organisations associated with German Social Democracy and asks whether these merely reproduced ‘high’ or ‘bourgeois’ culture or whether they contributed to a distinct cultural identity for their members. It concludes that, although much of the culture of these organisations was borrowed, it was not necessarily understood in the same way by workers as by middle‐class Germans. Moreover these organisations remained separate from those of the German bourgeoisie and possessed distinctive core values, in particular that of solidarity. This difference was reinforced by the housing conditions of German workers, which obviated the possibility of a privatised and domestic leisure. However, this ‘labour movement culture’ had to compete both with other organised working‐class cultures (of Catholics, Poles and workers in company clubs), with a ‘culture of poverty’ on the part of those in irregular employment and on low incomes, and with an increasingly commercial leisure industry. This ‘labour movement’ culture was also predominantly male.
Wedge Politics and Welfare Reform in Australia
Authors: Wilson Shaun , Turnbull Nick
Published: March 2003

The election of the Howard Government has marked a paradigm shift in welfare policy with the implementation of far reaching reforms around the concept of mutual obligation. At the same time, there has been media speculation about the Government's use of ‘wedge politics’ to sustain its political agenda with respect to welfare and other policies. Wedge politics, however, is yet to receive detailed analysis in Australian political science. We define wedge politics to be a calculated political tactic aimed at using divisive social issues to gain political support, weaken opponents and strengthen control over the political agenda. The purpose of this paper is thus twofold: to develop a definition of wedge politics and to investigate how the Howard Government's welfare reform agenda might be understood as an example of such politics, drawing out its longer‐term implications.
Imagining Aboriginal Nations: Early Nineteenth Century Evangelicals on the Australian Frontier and the “Nation” Concept
Authors: Blackburn Kevin
Published: March 2003

This article evaluates the extent that Aboriginal societies in early nineteenth century Australia were known by Europeans coming into early contact with them as Aboriginal nations rather than as tribes. The study demonstrates that early nineteenth century Evangelicals saw the Aboriginal societies that they encountered on the Australian frontier as nations because the Evangelicals’ view of the world was based on that found in their Bible, in which it is described how God had divided the world up into different nations. The article draws the conclusion that seeing Aboriginal people as nations was common among the Evangelicals. However, the practice of mapping and delineating individual Aboriginal nations was limited to a few Evangelicals, such as George Augustus Robinson and Edward Parker, who had acquired an intimate knowledge of Aboriginal culture.
The Zenith of Realism in New Zealand’s Foreign Policy
Authors: McCraw David J.
Published: March 2003

Modern New Zealand foreign policy is a blend of the Liberal Internationalist and Realist approaches to international relations, with the Liberal Internationalist strand arguably predominant. Before 1935, however, New Zealand’s foreign policy can be characterised as purely Realist. The governments of the Reform and United parties between 1912 and 1935 gave a high priority to national security, were sceptical of international institutions and had no interest in issues of self‐determination, democracy and human rights. These attitudes were challenged by the Labour party Opposition, which possessed a Liberal Internationalist outlook on international affairs, but Liberal Internationalism did not begin to influence New Zealand’s foreign policy until Labour came to power in 1935.
Farmer Representation in Australia: Avenues for Changing the Political Environment
Authors: Halpin Darren , Martin Peter
Published: March 2003

This paper focuses on changes in the way Australian farmers have sought to influence their political environment. A taxonomy of avenues for change is constructed and used to illustrate the broad transitions in the way farmers have engaged with the formal political process. It is argued that Australian farmers have proceeded from parliamentary/electoral through militant/sectoral forms of action, and are currently pursuing sectoral action supplemented by promotional and consultative actions. Using the New South Wales Farmers’ Association (NSWFA) as an example, we show how these changes in political engagement relate to a number of trends in the economic and political environment, for example economic deregulation, electoral change, administrative change, the declining economic significance of agriculture and the increasing impact of sociopolitical movements. These trends and perceived inadequate responses by sectoral interest groups and political parties have also led to rural people experimenting with alternative political avenues such as new ‘populist’ movements, rural summits and social movements such as Landcare and Women in Agriculture. The significance of Landcare as an avenue for renewal of rural identity and new forms of rural governance is briefly outlined.
Collaboration and Integrated Services in the NSW Public Sector
Authors: Vincent Ida
Published: March 2003

The paper discusses some of the findings of a review of whole‐of‐government activities in the NSW public sector conducted for the NSW Premier’s Department. Some major sources of the difficulties people encounter in whole‐of‐government initiatives are identified, together with some factors essential for success. Since there is no one ‘right’ model for whole‐of‐government activity, criteria are proposed for identifying the most appropriate whole‐of‐government response to different types of problem. In conclusion the paper summarises some key benefits and achievements of a growing whole‐of‐government ethos in the NSW public sector, and some possible strategies for further strengthening whole‐of‐government approaches.
Politicians, Media Moguls and PayTV: Pay‐TV Policy‐making in Australia 1977‐1995
Authors: Nevile Ann
Published: March 2003

This article explores the major influences on pay‐TV policy‐making in Australia from the late 1970s, when the issue was first discussed in the context of proposals to establish a domestic communications satellite, up until the introduction of pay‐TV in Australia in 1995, thereby placing current developments in the pay‐TV industry in context. The article argues that among larger broadcasting and telecommunications issues, pay‐TV has never been ‘the main game’. For both Coalition and Labor governments, the expansion of existing free‐to‐air television services in regional Australia and the introduction of competition in telecommunications have been much more important policy priorities than the introduction of pay‐TV. Furthermore, because pay‐TV policy‐making largely took place in this wider policy context, the structure of the broadcasting and telecommunications industries also shaped pay‐TV policy outcomes.
Management Structures for Government Lawyers
Authors: Selway QC Bradley
Published: March 2003

This paper explores the appropriate organisational structures for government lawyers. Professionals may require different arrangements than are applicable to others, particularly if professional skills and culture are to be maintained. These arrangements may include working within a professional group; line management by fellow professionalis of accepted professional competence; collegiate decision‐making processes. The same principles would seem to be applicable to other professional groups.
Victoria: Rolling Back – or Reinventing – the Kennett Revolution?
Authors: O'Neill Deirdre
Published: March 2003

The election of the Kennett government in 1992 heralded an era of unprecedented change in public sector employment and industrial relations in Victoria. The Employee Relations Act 1992 and the Public Sector Management Act 1992 redefined the public sector in Victoria and the relationship, both collective and individual, of public sector employees with government. In October 1999 the Kennett government unexpectedly lost office. But despite its pre‐election rhetoric promising a return to more conventional arrangements, there is little indication that the Bracks government intends to significantly dismantle the Kennett legacy in public sector employment and industrial relations.
The Changing Face of Public Sector Employment
Authors: Colley Linda
Published: March 2003

While it is easy, and almost a national sport, to criticise the traditional model of public sector employment as being too generous, there is a rationale for its distinctiveness. The career service model that endured for most of the last century was aligned to the bureaucratic form of public administration of that time. As public administration was ‘transformed’ into public sector management through the importing of private sector techniques, so too has public sector employment been varied in pursuit of greater efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness.
Program Budgeting and Accountability in Local Government
Authors: Kluvers Ron
Published: March 2003

Much has been written about program budgeting and its relevance to improved efficiency and effectiveness. However, there is little discussion about the relationship between the use of program budgeting and accountability. While, organisations using program budgeting focus on the issues of performance, the accountability of management to an elected body, such as a local council has been given little attention. In this article three questions are posed: (1) Is the performance information available to enable councillors to form a judgment about management's performance?; (2) Is management involved in determining issues of policy, such as objectives, programs and performance measurement?; and (3) Are councillors confronted by a greater volume of budgetary documentation but with no increase in time to consider it? The results show that program budgeting does not always enhance accountability in local government.
Governing for the Mainstream: Implications for Community Representation
Authors: Sawer Marian
Published: March 2003

In this paper I begin by examining the role of extra‐parliamentary institutions of representation within Australian democracy. I suggest that such institutions are an important supplement to majoritarian political institutions in ensuring that ‘weak voices’ are heard in the policy process. I then look at the impact of the Howard government on such extra parliamentary forms of community representation, drawing parallels with contemporaneous developments in Canada. I find that changes were in fact initiated under Labor governments, seeking to impose managerialist models on community‐based representation. The further controls introduced by the Howard government have, however, seriously reduced the capacity of community‐based peak bodies to represent their constituencies. These constraints create the danger of a less inclusive democracy, where the voices of those outside the mainstream can be ignored or misrepresented.
Consultation, Constraints and Norms: The Case of Nuclear Waste
Authors: Holland Ian
Published: March 2003

The objectives of public consultation can clash with other policy objectives, partly because the norms underpinning public consultation clash with other institutional norms within the policy process. This phenomenon is evident in the case of selecting a site for a low‐level nuclear waste disposal facility in Australia. This case shows how the results of consultation processes are moulded by the process design, which in turn is constrained by a range of policy process norms to which governments adhere. The case confirms some recent critiques of participatory practices. It also suggests that reconciling potentially competing policy process norms will be an important exercise in institutional design if elected representatives wish to mitigate citizens’ alienation from their governments.
Introduction — Building Local Government
Authors: Brown A. J.
Published: March 2003

In this and the last issue, the Australian Journal of Public Administration has profiled issues of current importance to Australian local/regional government. Contributors to Building Local Government looked at organisational change, performance measurement, leadership and social–capital–building roles in local government. Future of Regionalism now focuses on local and subnational government generally, in the financial, administrative and constitutional context. A major trigger for this focus is the present inquiry of the Commonwealth House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration into the financial position of local government.
Inquiry into Local Government Responsibilities and Funding
Authors: Tuckey Wilson
Published: March 2003

On 30 May 2002 I announced a major inquiry into local government. The inquiry is to be conducted by the multi–party House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration. In this article I look at the background to the inquiry and at some of the things I hope it will achieve.
Medicating Children: The Case of Ritalin
Authors: Perring Christian
Published: March 2003

In response to recent concerns about the overmedication of children, this paper considers ethical and conceptual issues that arise in the issue of when children who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should be given stimulants such as the psychotropic drug Ritalin as part of their treatment. There is considerable resistance and worry about the possibility of overmedication. This is linked to the worry that the diagnosis of ADHD is overused, and the paper considers some reasons to worry about the overuse of the diagnosis itself. The paper then focuses on the resistance to the use of drugs, which is particularly strong for children in the gray area of diagnosis, where it is dubious whether the children really meet the strict diagnostic criteria. The reasons behind such resistance are often not well articulated, so part of the task of the paper is spell out what they might be. The reasons are given the following labels: side effects, unnaturalness, profit motives, thought control, competitiveness, and doctors' power. The paper ends in taking the polemical position that while there is some legitimate concern about possible short and long term side effects of children taking psychotropic drugs, the other reasons for resistance are not well‐founded.
Vulnerable Populations and Morally Tainted Experiments
Authors: Luna Florencia
Published: March 2003

This article addresses the dilemma facing an editor when he or she has to decide whether or not to publish a manuscript that describes unethical research. I will explore three options the editor may follow: a) publish the unethical research; b) publish it with an explicit condemnation of the methods used; c) reject the article on moral grounds. I will consider the importance of deterring unethical research, why the deterrence argument has been overlooked and the relevance it has in developing countries which seem to be more exposed to morally tainted experiments.

I will suggest a combined policy. For cases in which the ethical problems are serious — where basic human rights are not respected, where consent has been given without complete or proper information or voluntary participation by subjects, or where deceit has been practised — I would support the strong policy of rejecting the article on moral grounds. For dubious cases, where the risk assessment can be doubted or where there are suspicions of ethical problems, I argue for a policy under which the article is published along with a serious discussion of the ethical problems suspected, allowing a rebuttal by the authors. In this way, while maintaining a strong deterrent policy, we recognize that sometimes it is not so clear if a research project was unethical, and only in such cases (where the ethical problems are dubious), the article may be published with an editorial.
Public Preferences for Health Care: Prioritisation in the United Kingdom
Authors: Shickle Darren
Published: March 2003

The Government in the UK is encouraging consumerism within health care and is requiring Health Authorities to consult with the public on prioritisation of resources. Public consultation within the National Health Service (NHS) has had limited success in the past. Many of the techniques used are flawed. Despite the limited scope of the public surveys conducted so far, a number of themes have emerged:

— a willingness to pay for experimental, ‘high‐tech’ life‐saving treatments rather than more cost‐effective treatments which will improve quality of life, which are more likely to maximise utility from the scarce resources available;

— preference for treating the young rather than the old;

— preference for treating patients with dependants (e.g. spouse, children) rather than those who have none;

— a willingness to discriminate against those patients who were partially responsible for their illness due to choice of `unhealthy' lifestyle (e.g. smoking cigarettes, drinking excess alcohol).

These public preferences raise ethical problems. For example, is it just to spend more on heroic treatments which are likely to fail? Is there a right to health care irrespective of whether you have had ‘a fair innings’ or whether a patient is in part responsible for their illness due to an unhealthy lifestyle? If there are ethical concerns about these preferences, should health authorities consult with the public at all? Is human life and suffering incommensurable, and hence is it impossible to prioritise anyway? Some of the ethical consequences of using empirical data on public preferences are discussed.
Justice and Equal Opportunities in Health Care
Authors: Harris John
Published: March 2003

The principle that each individual is entitled to an equal opportunity to benefit from any public health care system, and that this entitlement is proportionate neither to the size of their chance of benefitting, nor to the quality of the benefit, nor to the length of lifetime remaining in which that benefit may be enjoyed, runs counter to most current thinking about the allocation of resources for health care. It is my contention that any system of prioritisation of the resources available for healthcare or of rationing such resources must be governed by this principle.

This can have apparently paradoxical conclusions in that it can seem wasteful to give someone with a very slim chance of a lifesaving treatment the same priority as someone with a much better chance. In an important and thoughtful recent paper, Julian Savulescu has concentrated on this apparent weakness and has argued for a particular conception of the good or benefit to be achieved by a healthcare system which purports to demonstrate the inadequacies of an equal opportunities approach to prioritisation and to replace it with an altogether better account. This paper will show that a rational ‘reasons based consequentialism’ is more in line with the equal opportunities approach, which I defended some time ago in these pages, than with that of Savulescu. I shall then examine more closely the conception of equal opportunities in health care and show that if we give weight to an individual's reasons, and what is expected to be good for them, we will opt for exactly the equality based account of distributive justice that I have recommended.
Autonomy, Interdependence, and Assisted Suicide: Respecting Boundaries/Crossing Lines
Authors: Donchin Anne
Published: March 2003

Western philosophy has been powerfully influenced by a paradigm of personal agency that is linked to an individualistic conception of autonomy. This essay contrasts this conception with an alternative understanding that recognizes a social component built into the very meaning of autonomy. After reviewing feminist critiques of the dominant conception of autonomy, I develop the broad outlines of a relational view and apply this reconceptualization to a concrete situation in order to show how this altered view reconfigures understanding of the participants' relationships and each of their personal perspectives. The situation chosen, physician‐assisted suicide, is intended principally to illustrate one respect in which a relational conception of autonomy reframes a controversial moral issue and reveals perspectives toward it that are likely to be obscured when autonomy is viewed through the lens of the dominant individualistic conception. My principal aim is to show that when autonomy is understood relationally, respecting others' autonomy is likely to be a far more complex issue than is apparent within the standard conception, both for those with professional responsibilities and often for personal intimates as well.
How Rational Should Bioethics Be? The Value of Empirical Approaches
Authors: Alvarez Allen Andrew A.
Published: March 2003

Rational justification of claims with empirical content calls for empirical and not only normative philosophical investigation. Empirical approaches to bioethics are epistemically valuable, i.e., such methods may be necessary in providing and verifying basic knowledge about cultural values and norms. Our assumptions in moral reasoning can be verified or corrected using these methods. Moral arguments can be initiated or adjudicated by data drawn from empirical investigation. One may argue that individualistic informed consent, for example, is not compatible with the Asian communitarian orientation. But this normative claim uses an empirical assumption that may be contrary to the fact that some Asians do value and argue for informed consent. Is it necessary and factual to neatly characterize some cultures as individualistic and some as communitarian? Empirical investigation can provide a reasonable way to inform such generalizations. In a multi‐cultural context, such as in the Philippines, there is a need to investigate the nature of the local ethos before making any appeal to authenticity. Otherwise we may succumb to the same ethical imperialism we are trying hard to resist. Normative claims that involve empirical premises cannot be reasonably verified or evaluated without utilizing empirical methods along with philosophical reflection. The integration of empirical methods to the standard normative approach to moral reasoning should be reasonably guided by the epistemic demands of claims arising from cross‐cultural discourse in bioethics.
On Cloning Human Beings
Authors: De Melo‐Martín Inmaculada
Published: March 2003

The purpose of this paper is to show that arguments for and against cloning fail to make their case because of one or both of the following reasons: 1) they take for granted customary beliefs and assumptions that are far from being unquestionable; 2) they tend to ignore the context in which human cloning is developed. I will analyze some of the assumptions underlying the main arguments that have been offered for and against cloning. Once these assumptions are critically analyzed, arguments both rejecting and supporting human cloning seem to lose weight. I will first briefly present the main arguments that have been proposed against cloning and I will argue that they fail to establish their case. In the next section I will evaluate some of the positive arguments that have been offered supporting such technology. This analysis will show that the case for cloning also fails. Finally, I will maintain that because critics and especially supporters of this technology neglect the context in which human cloning is developed and might be implemented, their arguments are far from compelling.
Going to the Roots of the Stem Cell Controversy
Authors: Holm Søren
Published: March 2003

The purpose of this paper is to describe the scientific background to the current ethical and legislative debates about the generation and use of human stem cells, and to give an overview of the ethical issues underlying these debates.

The ethical issues discussed are 1) stem cells and the status of the embryo, 2) women as the sources of ova for stem cell production, 3) the use of ova from other species, 4) slippery slopes towards reproductive cloning, 5) the public presentation of stem cell research and 6) the evaluation of scientific uncertainty and its implications for public policy.
Challenging Behaviour: Don't Forget Us!
Authors: Russell Philippa
Published: March 2003

Philippa Russell (Director of the Council for Disabled Children) who chaired the Mental Health Foundation Committee on Services for Children with Learning Disabilities and Severe Challenging Behaviour, provides an overview of the evidence received and summarises its report's recommendations.
Supporting Change in Schools
Authors: Holst Jesper
Published: March 2003

In his article in the March 1997 edition of BJSE, Professor Mel Ainscow speculated on some of the reasons for the lack of progress towards a more inclusive school system in Britain, and identified possible ways of moving forward. Implicit in his penetrating analysis is that policies for implementing change in schools need to be supported at all levels, both within the education system itself and throughout society. Jesper Holst, associate professor at the Royal Danish School of Educational Studies, focuses on these wider issues and uses examples from Denmark and Mongolia to identify successful strategies for change which rely on professional and economic support (from both central and local government), and the backing of parents and local communities. In Denmark the concept of inclusive education is reflected in the new (1993) Danish Education Act and the basis of the work described is the assumption that by supporting change schools can be better prepared to respond to pupil diversity.
Standards for Specialists? A Review of the Proposals for Teacher Training for SEN Specialists
Authors: Miller Carol , Porter Jill
Published: March 2003

Carol Miller and Jill Porter, of the School of Education, The University of Birmingham, provide a penetrating critical response to the Teacher Training Agency’s two consultation documents on SEN specialist teachers, which it is hoped will stimulate a wide‐ranging debate.