Is inequality rising or falling? The answer, if recent public debate is anything to go by, may appear at first to depend on who you ask. Peter Whiteford Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University explores in this re-post from the Conversation.
Read MoreNHS statistics released this week documented that eating disorders in men have increased by 70% in the UK, finding that these illnesses are rising at the same rate in young men as they are in young women. The media has been inundated with headlines discussing this rise in male eating disorders pointing towards causes such as social media and rise of body image pressures on men and boys within modern society as a way to understand this phenomenon. While there is no doubt that such issues may have an influence on such a sharp rise in men experiencing such illnesses, male eating disorders are not a new phenomenon, simply one that has been “underdiagnosed, undertreated, and misunderstood” (Strother, Lemberg & Tuberville, 2012). A study in 2007 estimated that up to 25% of individuals with eating disorders were male, with underdiagnoses being debated due to the low number of men within services.
Research into the reasons why people develop these illnesses have developed steadily in recent years with evidence suggesting that the similarities outweigh the differences between genders with regards to the core features and psychology of eating disorders. With treatment outcomes reported as equally successful for men as for women, Dr Una Foye asks the question remains why this “sudden” increase?
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With the rise in authoritarianism comes very real concerns about effective governance. In today’s post, policy whisperer Susan Maury ( @SusanMaury ) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand explores how the psychology of group identification is used by government to vilify specific groups of people, thereby limiting public accountability for ensuring robust policy.
Read MoreClimate change is a problem that can and should be fought in multiple ways and at many different levels, argue policy researchers Michael Mintrom (ANZSOG) and Joannah Luetjens (Utrecht University) in their recent journal article. Policy entrepreneurs actively work with others in and around policymaking venues to promote policy change. They play – and will continue to play – an important role in efforts to address climate change.
Read MoreCan alcohol and drugs be called a ‘cause’ of family violence? What do we even mean when we talk about ‘causes’ of social problems? In this post, ANZSOG Research Fellow Sophie Yates (@MsSophieRae) outlines research she presented last month at the 5th European Conference on Politics and Gender. She explains why problem framing is so important in public policy, and explores the framing of policy actors talking about alcohol and drugs in Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence.
Read MoreAs the first of its kind internationally, the Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health (CRE-DH) is Australia's new national research centre to improve the health of people with disabilities. The CRE-DH, in collaboration with key stakeholders, will gather the evidence needed to guide social and health policy reform. How will the organisation work? CRE-DH's Celia Green and Zoe Aitken explain.
Read MoreUN Gender Training is a policy that aims to reduce harmful behaviours in peacekeepers and unintended negative effects of peacekeeping missions; but does this well-intentioned, academically based, and centrally designed policy actually work in real life? In this article, Lisa Carson of UNSW Canberra's Public Service Research Group discusses the need for openness and knowledge transfer to strengthen policy design and implementation.
Read More"Joined-up government" has been around for some time and is still present in the lexicon of Australian politicians and public servants. But have we learned from our previous attempts at integrated approaches to government? In 2014, The Mandarin's David Donaldson spoke to UNSW Canberra's Gemma Carey, Fiona Buick, and Deborah Blackman as well as University of Melbourne's Janine O'Flynn and retired professor John Halligan about their views on this topic, and their comments are just as relevant today.
Read MoreThe Productivity Commission released the position paper National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Cost earlier this month. Today's post is from UNSW Canberra's Public Service Research Group's Helen Dickinson, who provides a succinct analysis of the report's findings. This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Read MoreCan using expectancy theory to manage expectations improve the operationlization of employee performance management and increase the possibility of creating high performance? Prof. Deborah Blackman, Dr. Fiona Buick, Prof. Janine O'Flynn, Prof. Michael O'Donnell and Dr. Damian West have published a paper on this very topic, and here's their summary of their study.
Read MorePolicy change in health often seems to be a reactive process with high profile failures in the delivery of healthcare prompting significant changes. Alison Brown, PhD candidate, University of Melbourne considers why major reforms in health care policy often seem driven by disaster rather than design.
Read MoreThe controversies of the 2016 census now seem in the distant past but the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is busy collating the numbers from last year’s eventful census and are preparing for the release of data over the coming months. Stephen Gow, from specialist health system advisory service Open Advisory Pty Ltd, considers how the census powers our understanding of the notion of “place”.
Read MoreOlder adults are highly motivated to participate in research and rate depression as a priority research topic. So why aren’t we involving them more in research and policy development? Meg Polacsek, PhD Candidate, Victoria University, considers the importance of engaging with these members of our community.
Read MoreAustralia’s system of home ownership is, very slowly, starting to break. Since the 1950s we have enjoyed high levels of home ownership. Public policy helped people buy a home, which supported security in older age. Because ownership was ubiquitous, private renting was allowed to become insecure. In this post, Ben Spies-Butcher discusses the implications of this trend.
Read MoreSuicide is complex, but helping to prevent suicide doesn’t have to be. Everyone has a role to play and there are some seemingly small changes, that we can all make, that have a big impact. Thinking about the language that we use can do just that. While our language can convey compassion, provide hope, empowerment and optimism, we can also unwittingly express messages that divide and stigmatise. This blog post by Emma Neilsen discusses how even everyday expressions may carry connotations we have not considered and speak to ideas we don’t condone.
Read MoreLast week marked the launch of the new Public Service Research Group (PSRG) at UNSW Canberra. PSRG has been established to partner with organisational clients to produce new insights into effective public service implementation and evaluation. Stephen Easton was at the launch and reports below. This post originally appeared on The Mandarin.
The 2017 Federal budget unveiled by the Coalition held many surprises, mainly in the efforts it went to achieve distance from the disastrous 2014 budget. With significant investment into education, health and housing, some even called it a ‘Labor light budget’. However, these positive inputs are offset by the increasingly punitive approach to people on welfare, contrary to what evidence indicates is effective policy. In today’s post Kathy Landvogt highlights some of the most concerning aspects of the government’s stance towards people on welfare and how it will set Australia back as the land of the ‘fair go.’ This blog originally appeared on the Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand web site.
Read MoreFrom the online portal to enrolment targets to workforce shortages, the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has been plagued with difficulties. But A/Prof Helen Dickinson (@DrHDickinson) cautions that we don't yet have enough information to make definitive statements about success and failure. We should expect some challenges to arise as the NDIS is implemented, and this doesn’t mean that the idea is fundamentally flawed.
Read MoreGovernments wringing too many savings out of outsourced risk is threatening the commercial and political sustainability of the whole enterprise, warns one of Australia’s top government contracting experts. For the Australia and New Zealand School of Government's Prof Gary Sturgess, it’s becoming a ‘game of chicken’ where the players want out.
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