Obstacles to organizational change: the creation of the Canadian Space Agency

Abstract: This article begins with the observation that the recently established Canadian Space Agency possesses very few of the organizational attributes that its early promoters had envisioned. The agency is much less autonomous, for example, and is located much farther from the industry than was originally expected. We describe three rather distinct perspectives on organizational change and argue that each one has a contribution to make in understanding the evolution of the Canadian Space Agency away from its initial conception. As backdrop to this theoretical argument we outline the structure of the space industry, the various initiatives undertaken to guide industry development, and the circumstances surrounding the creation of the space agency. In the final section of the article, drawing on interviews with public officials and private actors, we show how, in creating the space agency, bureaucrats, politicians and industry representatives were unable to surmount several key obstacles previewed in the introductory section. Sommaire: Cet article commence par le constat que l'Agence spatiale canadienne qui vient d'être mise sur pied ne possède que très peu des attributs organisationnels que ses premiers promoteurs avaient envisagés. Par exemple, l'agence est nettement moins autonome et eile est située beaucoup plus loin de l'industrie que ce qui avait été prévu à l'origine. Cet article présente trois perspectives distinctes sur l'évolution organisationnelle, affirmant que chacune peut contribuer à la compréhension de l'évolution de l'Agence spatiale canadienne par rapport à sa conception d'origine. Pour étayer cet argument théorique, l'article précise la structure de l'industrie spatiale, les diverses initiatives entreprises pour guider le développement du secteur, ainsi que les circonstances entourant la création de l'agence spatiale. La dernière section de l'article, s'appuyant sur des entrevues avec des fonctionnaires et des intervenants privés, montre pourquoi, lorsqu'ils ont créé l'agence spatiale, certains fonctionnaires, politiciens et représentants de l'industrie ont été incapables de surmonter plusieurs obstacles clés décrits dans l'introduction     

Unwelcomed? The Effects of Statelessness on Involuntary Refugee Repatriation in Bangladesh and Myanmar

ABSTRACT

Refugees are among the most vulnerable populations, often denied rights of residency, treated as hostile intruders, even forced into unsafe camps. This has been particularly true of the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group which has fled Myanmar by the hundreds of thousands since 2012. Having found little refuge in Bangladesh, the group faces growing fears of involuntary repatriation. This is not the first time that the group has faced forced repatriation. What explains the shortcomings of past repatriations and why does the cycle persist? This paper contends that statelessness is a contributing factor in the continual failure of repatriation processes. An examination of the 1992–1997 repatriation of Rohingya refugees reveals that the condition of statelessness can undermine safeguards often granted to refugees, decrease incentives for refugees to return, and impair opportunities for long-term solutions, while exacerbating state and human security issues. An illustrative case of successful refugee repatriation in Angola suggests that the absence of statelessness can improve prospects for successful repatriation.     

Regulation of Government: Has it Increased,is it Increasing,Should it be Diminished?

This article examines arms-length 'regulation' of UK government – the public-sector analogy to regulation of business firms — and assesses the precepts for public-sector regulation embodied in the Blair Labour government's official vision of public-man-agement reform, its Modernising Government White Paper of 1999. As a background to assessing the recipes for public-sector regulation in Modernising Government, the article shows that such regulation grew markedly both in the two decades up to 1997 and in the plans and activities of the Blair government from 1997 to 1999. Against that background, the design principles for public-sector regulation contained in Modernising Government are assessed. The White Paper was notable for embracing a doctrine of 'enforced self-regulation' for the public sector that involved aspirations to both more and less public-sector regulation in the future. It put its faith in a mixture of oversight and mutuality for 'regulating regulation'. But in spite of the radical-sounding tone of Modernising Government, the measures proposed appeared limited and half-hearted, and two well-known institutional design principles for regulation seemed to be missing altogether from the Blair government's view of administrative 'modernity'.     

Evidence in support of self-declaration as a sampling method for the formation of sub-population DNA databases

Well constructed sub-population databases are fundamental to the application of DNA-based forensic statistics. The size of such databases can affect the ability to examine adequately statistical or population genetic features, and the integrity of both the DNA profile and associated ethnicity information is also of importance. Use of short tandem repeat (STR) DNA profiling technology and the thoughtful construction of the governing legislation has seen large databases of DNA profiles collated for the four major sub-populations of New Zealand. Examination of the data illustrates the suitability of self-declaration as a means of categorizing samples on the basis of ethnicity.