Sustaining Indigenous futures? Welfare reform and responsibility for the other

Debates about the provision of welfare over the past decade have been founded upon an increasing concern with the responsibilities of welfare recipients. In Australia, as elsewhere, the emphasis has been on recipients’ responsibility to rise above their circumstances (no matter how constraining) in order to ‘give something back’ to society. This practice of ‘responsibilisation’ has recently been extended to parents and residents of certain remote Northern Territory and Far North Queensland communities, in response to an inquiry into the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse (Northern Territory Government 2007). Parents and community members have an enforceable obligation to control and civilise their own conduct as well as that of their children (see Yeend & Dow 2007). The approach to welfare reform in Indigenous communities introduced by the former Howard Government is punitive and paternalistic. Aboriginal parents and community members are subject to a new income management regime in cases of child neglect or by reason of geographical location. Indeed, in seventy-three designated Northern Territory communities the reforms are obligatory and indiscriminately applied to all residents (Altman 2007, p. 311). Income management diverts all or part of a person’s hitherto inalienable benefit payments to a special account for the provision of priority needs. Worryingly, specific details about the circumstances that trigger subjection to income management—for those who do not inhabit prescribed NT communities—and the precise meaning of priority needs are not spelt out in legislation. The bill also eschews the principle of antidiscrimination (Yeend & Dow 2007, pp. 7, 4). Influential Indigenous leader Noel Pearson (2000) has long supported this kind of intervention as part of a broader solution to community dysfunction, child abuse and neglect. Indeed, the legislation implements Cape York welfare reform trials that extend income management and other measures to specified Far North Queensland communities based on recommendations put forward by Pearson and the Cape York Institute (2007). Pearson’s support for welfare reform is, however, grounded in albeit a contested positive alternative vision of reciprocal responsibility, economic development and selfdetermination. Broadly bipartisan support indicates that the latest welfare reform measures are likely to have a significant effect on the future of Indigenous citizenship. While the Howard Government has recently been replaced by a more progressive Labor government, the new government remains committed to the changes in their current form until a review scheduled for mid-2008. The review, as well as the more collaborative approach of the current government, renders careful critical analysis and public scrutiny of Indigenous welfare reform an urgent and productive task. Drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas (1969), this paper questions the normative assumptions underpinning these changes. Negatively, I question two frameworks for thinking about responsibility that inform Indigenous welfare reform; namely, protection and mutual obligation. Positively, I argue for an alternative approach to welfare reform that both foregrounds a sense of responsibility for the other and sustains alterity

Everyday gambling in New Zealand

There is a sizeable body of statistics on gambling in New Zealand which points albeit unintentionally - to the everyday status of this activity. Max Abbott and Rachel Volberg, two leading figures in the rapidly growing discipline of gambling studies, note that in 15 short years there have been no less than seven surveys on gambling in New Zealand (not including a large number of university theses). These include three assessments of people's participation in gambling by the Department of Internal Affairs, plus two surveys funded by the department focusing on problem gambling. To these can be added one conducted by a regional health authority, North Health, under contract to the Committee on Problem Gambling Management and one conducted on behalf of the Casino Control Authority. This much research on gambling should suggest to the reader that there is something about gambling that piques the interest of government bureaucrats and agencies. Here the frequency of the phrase `problem gambling' is the giveaway. In this section we will review some of the findings of this research and cover its more pathological rationale later

Modelling the reporting discrepancies in bilateral data

This paper is about the discrepancies in reported bilateral statistical data ("mirror data"). For example the trade from country A to country B is not reported the same in the two countries. The discrepancies are used to estimate the accuracy of the reporters. The estimated accuracies are to be used to compute optimal combinations of mirror data. Two models of the discrepancies are presented: (a) unbiased reporting with inaccurate reporters having a large variance, and (b) biased reporting with inaccurate reporters having a large bias (either positive or negative). Estimation methods are least squares regression and maximum likelihood. A numerical illustration is given, using data of the international trade in services. It is shown how to judge the two models empirically. For an updated�version, see CPB Discussion Paper 216 .�

The derivatives of complex characteristic roots in the econometric modelling textbook of Kuh et al.

Characteristic roots, or eigenvalues, are a useful tool in the study of linear dynamic economic models. The relation between the roots and the model coefficients are expressed in the derivatives of the former with respect to the latter. In general, the roots are complex numbers. This note discusses the derivatives of both the modulus and the cycle time of the complex roots. An important reference on this subject is Kuh et al. (1985) [hereafter: KNH]. Below it is shown that KNH discusses these derivatives unsatisfactory. In the next two sections the model and the derivatives of the roots are given. Section 4 presents the formulas for the derivatives of the modulus and the cycle time of complex roots. The substance of the paper is section 5, with a critical comment on the discussion of these derivatives in KNH. The last section gives a short conclusion. �

Continuous-time modelling in econometrics and engineering - juli 2002

This paper discusses a widely used discrete-time analog of dynamic continuous-time models. This analog can not be used for the estimation of models with fast adaption to shocks. This has been overlooked in the econometric literature. In the engineering literature this same analogon is defined, using other names and other notation. Here warnings can be found against the estimation of fast models. The engineering literature is ignored in the econometric literature.

Hourglass models of world-wide problems such as climate change

A simple model of “hourglass†problems is presented. For such problems, the benefit of a national policy measure is propagated to all countries through one single world-wide variable. The prime example is the effect of the reduction of CO 2 emission on the world climate. Five optimal solutions are given, for various situations and points of view, followed by a comparison with the outcome of permit trading.

Ethnicity and deliberate self-injury: A review of the literature

Deliberate self-injury is a significant social problem affecting youth in New Zealand. Rates of hospitalisation for youth (aged 15 to 19) from deliberate self-injury approximate 225 per 100,000. It appears that the rates for Maori and women are significantly higher. From 1987 to 1993, an average of 488 Maori women per 100 000 population have been hospitalised each year (Ministry of Health: Manatu Hauora, 1996). This paper draws upon both local and international literature to examine factors underlying this ethnic disparity. There is a wealth of literature examining risk factors underlying suicidal behaviour as a whole. Deliberate self-injury is usually assumed to be an adjunct of youth suicide; prevention strategies are conflated. This paper argues that this assumption is untenable, and in particular, that prevention strategies designed for youth suicide are problematic in terms of deliberate selfinjury. While prevention strategies are based upon studies that do not differentiate between these groups, results will be compromised

Headteachers’ Perception of the Implementation of the Capitation Grant Scheme In The Sunyani West District of the Brong Ahafo Region

This study was conducted to find out head teachers' perception of the implementation of the capitation grant scheme in Sunyani West East District of the Brong Ahafo Region. The study specifically focused on explaining how head teachers conceptualised the concept of capitation grant scheme, the implementation process, and the challenges associated with the implementation of the scheme. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study, and a questionnaire and an interview guide were designed and administered to a sample of 40 head teachers from the district in the Region. The analysis of data revealed that 70.0% of the head teachers had an in-depth understanding of the source of capitation grant as being from the Government. The study, among others, found that the main challenges confronting the smooth implementations of the scheme were delay in the release of funds and inadequate funds. It is recommended that Government should release adequate amount of the grant in good time (thus, before the beginning of each quarter) so that school heads will avoid pre-financing of school activities. Also, the Ghana Education Service should continue to train head teachers in financial management and administration for prudent use of funds

The Impact of Writing Assignments on Student Learning: Should Writing Assignments Be Structured or Unstructured?

This action research project investigates whether writing assignments are associated with improved student performance in terms of lower-order learning and higher-order learning as defined in Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. The impact of explicitly structuring the learning environment on student performance is examined. We find that structured writing positively impacts students' performance on lower-order (knowledge and comprehension) assessments. However our findings suggest that structure only weakly enhances the performance of students on higher-order skills assessments. Accordingly, we recommend that structured writing assignments, particularly those designed to develop higher-order learning objectives, be introduced earlier into the economics and business curricula.