Professional self-regulation and guidelines in assisted reproduction

Australia's scientific expertise in ART has not been matched by similar standards in national regulation. Scientific breakthroughs in the early 1980s were followed by cohorts of State and national inquiries. Early guidelines by the National Health and Medical Research Council were followed by status of children legislation clarifying their parentage where donated gametes were used. The practice and procedure of ART was legislatively regulated in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia but left to guidelines and accreditation of the Fertility Society of Australia in the remaining States and Territories. The article examines the consequences of an absence of national regulation in dealing with embryo experimentation now that debates have shifted to human cloning and stem cell technology. The article also considers arguments for and against regulation in areas of parental procreative decision-making and embryo experimentation.     

Reducing Aboriginal Over-representation in Prison

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody attributed the high rate of Aboriginal deaths in custody to the over-representation of Aboriginal people in prison. Most analyses of this over-representation focus on the issue of systemic bias in policing, the law or the operation of the criminal justice system. The present article contends that, while discriminatory treatment of Aboriginal people by police and the court system is an historical fact, the leading current cause of Aboriginal over-representation in prison is not systemic bias but high rates of Aboriginal involvement in serious crime. We argue that efforts to reduce Aboriginal imprisonment rates through policing or criminal justice system policy have failed and will continue to fail until they succeed in reducing crime in Aboriginal communities. Future efforts to bring down Aboriginal imprisonment rates should focus on this issue.     

Populism in Canadian foreign policy: the 1986 review revisited

Abstract: Throughout the 1993 federal election campaign Canadians were subjected to reminders that this was an age of disillusioned populists. One response to this new mood was contained in the now popular Red Book entitled “Creating Opportunity: The Liberal Plan for Canada,” in which the right of Canadians to regular and serious consultations on foreign policy issues was to be affirmed and acted upon. This essay explores how an earlier consultation in 1985–86 was accomplished in the most extensive foreign policy review process ever established by the federal government. It examines the bureaucratic attitudes towards such public input and the critical leadership needed by the minister to ensure that a positive response to the parliamentarians' 121 recommendations was obtained from the bureaucracy. If parliamentary committees are to play the middleman role in brokering diverse and competing ideas emanating from public representations on policy, then ministerial interest, involvement, and clout will be deemed necessities before acceptance and policy implementation become a reality among mandarins. Obtaining public input is much easier than moving the bureaucracy in response to that input. The modes of public administration must be adjusted if democratization of policy making is to become a reality. Sommaire: Tout au long de la campagne d'élection fédérale de 1993, les événements ont rappelé aux Canadiens que notre époque était celle des populistes désillusionnés. Parmi les réactions à ce nouvel état d'esprit figurait le “ Livre rouge ”, entre-temps devenu populaire et intitulé“ Créer des possibilités: le Plan libéral pour le Canada ”, qui affirmait les droits des Canadiens àêtre consultés de manière régulière et sérieuse sur les questions de politique étrangère afin qu'on y donne suite. Le présent article examine la manière dont une consultation antérieure (Hockin-Simard, 1985–1986) a été réalisée dans le cadre du processus de réexamen de la politique étrangère le plus approfondi et jamais entrepris par le gouvernement fédéral. Il examine les attitudes des fonctionnaires face à cette participation du public ainsi que le leadership essentiel dont le ministre avait besoin pour s'assurer d'obtenir une réponse positive du fonctionnariat aux 121 recommandations des députés. Si l'on veut que les comités parlementaires jouent le rôle d'intermédiaires pour faire accepter des idées à la fois diverses et contradictoires provenant des soumissions du public sur les questions de politique, il est absolument nécessaire qu'il y ait intérêt, participation, et forte intervention de la part du ministre avant que l'acceptation et la Inise en oeuvre des politiques ne deviennent éalité parmi les bureaucrates. Il est beaucoup plus facile d'obtenir l'avis du public que de faire bouger la bureaucratie à réagir à cet avis. Les usages d'administmtion publique doivent subir des ajustements si l'on veut que la démocratisation de la définition des politiques devienne réalité.     

Australia's Rural Reconstruction Commission, 1943‐46: A Reassessment

The Rural Reconstruction Commission 1943‐46 remains the most ambitious inquiry ever undertaken into Australia's rural affairs. Despite the Commission's scope it has attracted little interest from historians. This lack of interest stems from an inaccurate assessment of the impact the reports had on policy making. Assessments have emphasised the few recommendations adopted, but have failed to appreciate the Commission's usefulness to governments confronted with the diverse interests and entrenched jurisdictional boundaries that complicate rural policy making.     

The Gender in Stories: How War Stories and Police Narratives Shape Masculine Police Culture

This research examines storytelling and narrative development in police culture related to gendered aspects of policing. Interviews with 28 officers indicates that women are frequently viewed through a gendered lens and that police storytelling appears an important context for understanding police culture. The types of stories explored in this paper–flow of action, war stories, and gender narratives–provide a context for understanding the (re)production of masculinity in policing. By paying close attention to police narratives we can gain insight into the maintenance of masculine police culture. The findings also build on the growing foundation of narrative inquiry in criminology.