New town,new capital,new workplace? The employment relations of a Japnese inward investors in West Midlands new town

In this paper we examine the chracter of employment and industrial relatins withing new manufacturing industry in a new-town setting. We show how a combination ofnational and local state initiatives generated a new patterno of manuafacturin, dominated by foreign-owned companies. Drawing from extensive fieldwork in Japanese firms, we demonstrate,contra the ‘japanization’ thesis, that greenfield sites do not proved employers with unconstained opportunities to control labour. Rather, we highlight how capoital-labour relations development through interaction between large firms, state agencies and workers, producing an evoling and contested new employment settlement. Our analysis also undelines the limits confronting local state development strategies under a neo-liberal state regime.     

Adjudicating reasonable and necessary funded supports in the National Disability Insurance Scheme: A critical review of the values and priorities indicated in the decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Beyond the initial euphoria of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), tough choices will be needed for sustainability. Although the spirit of the NDIS is to deliver choice and control, the Australian government's objective is to ensure that rights and aspirations are proportionate to expectations of best practice, aptness of mainstream services and cost effectiveness. The position in this paper is that this test of ‘reasonable and necessary’ when determining funded supports, raises value dilemmas for government and citizens. The objective is to demonstrate this through a critical scrutiny of the reviews and decisions regarding reasonable and necessary funded supports of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). In this paper, a synthesis and critique of 35 appeals to the AAT and one Federal Court Appeal are used to make explicit the decisional ambiguities and contestations in the scheme and the values and priorities that are currently dominant in the allocation of reasonable and necessary support. This in turn is used as a basis for a discussion about the operation of rights in the scheme and what counts as legitimate support. The benefit is for scheme transparency and fairness but also broader debate about core principles and values to inform decisions about scarce resources in society.     

The Ups and Downs of State Budget Process Reform: Experience of Three Decades

From zero-base budgeting to the Government Performance and Results Act, state budgeting systems have been synonymous with budgeting reform for over 30 years. This article examines the trends, both long-term and short-term, which have been identified through analysis of state budgeting office practices. Particular emphasis has been placed on understanding the changes in performance measurement over the period of 1970 to 2000. The findings reveal trends such as changes in the makeup of budget office personnel, a lack of budget offices in moving toward cost accounting, and trends in budget preparation and budget documents. Some budget reforms seem to have plateaued, beginning in the mid-1990s, while other reforms have exhibited "backsliding." It is clear that the states are not all marching in unison in reforming their budget systems. As with earlier phases of this study, the 2000 data raise many questions that will be explored in future research.     

Genetic Information and the Challenge to Privacy

Genetic screening and testing techniques provide a new and powerful diagnostic tool for the acquisition of predictive information. The potential value of such diagnostic techniques cannot be overstated. Genetic diagnostic tests pave the way for the development of gene therapy techniques which may provide remedies for diseases previously considered untreatable. There are clearly tremendous opportunities for improving the quality of life of those who suffer from genetic disorders as well as opportunities for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to swell their profits. A complex of pressures and tensions is currently developing around the use of genetic technology for therapeutic purposes in human beings. This paper considers only one element of this complex and dynamic situation, that of the regulatory climate surrounding the use of genetic screening in Europe. If, as many pharmaceutical companies concede, the key to the development of successful gene therapy products is the freedom to use genotyping and genetic screening without significant legal restriction, then the regulatory climate has a crucial significance for the future of this technology. It emerges, however, that there are other interests at stake apart from just those of the patients and the pharmaceutical companies. Insurance companies and employers are also highly interested in the acquisition and use of genetic information. There are arguments both for and against permitting such entities to use or request genetic testing and screening which shall be traversed in the body of the paper. However, the interest of insurance companies and employers in genetic information has stimulated a countercurrent of public pressure for restrictions on the use that can be made of genetic diagnostic information. In a number of countries, this pressure has generated enough concern to stimulate legislatures to seek to enact laws that curtail the use and acquisition of genetic information. This pattern has clearly emerged in the United States and there are strong indications that similar trends are developing in Europe. This article catalogues and critiques the laws and regulations currently affecting genetic screening and testing in Europe.