The Mutual Obligation Policy in Australia: The rhetoric and reasoning of recent social security policy

Since 1997, the Australian Federal Liberal Government has introduced policies which have sought to reduce rates of unemployment, particularly long-term unemployment. The policy, known as Mutual Obligation, increased the expectations on unemployed people in return for their social security payment. At the same time, previous labour market programmes and government assistance schemes were scrapped or privatised. This article explores the justification of the term 'Mutual Obligation' by examining both the language and the underlying principles of the policy. By defining the problem of unemployment in terms of flaws in the previous social security system, the stage is set for the government to introduce policies which remedy those flaws by emphasising self- reliance in favour of government assistance. Further, by invoking notions of fairness and mutuality, the article argues that the term 'Mutual Obligation' masks both the extent and the strength of the obligations imposed on unemployed people.     

Heuristic approaches to decision-making in the delivery of primary health care within developing regions

The delivery of primary health care (PHC) services is now recognized as a crucial element in the development of low-income regions. Effective delivery of these services requires the ability to solve a variety of policy decision problems. Research has demonstrated the utility of operations research/management science (OR/MS) models and methodologies in the analysis and solution of such problems. However, this approach may be limited in some regions by the data and computational requirements of the models. Intuitive approaches in the spirit of OR/MS models, termed heuristics, can provide an effective alternative in such cases. The current paper proposes a general heuristic procedure for solving problems of PHC delivery in developing regions. The heuristic is applied, in detail, to the problem of identifying "best" community financing schemes for PHC services in low-income sections of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.     

Measuring the Effectiveness of New Approaches to Housing Support Policy for Persons with Disabilities

Housing support policy for persons with disabilities who require access to 24‐hour formal or informal support is changing throughout Australia. This is consistent with international trends including: independent living in generic housing; facilitating choices about where and with whom people live; individualised home‐based support; and community integration. Are these trends leading to policies that are effective in the Australian context? This article presents a framework for analysing the effectiveness of new approaches to housing support using a rights perspective. The framework consists of four domains: client outcomes; administrative systems; service viability; and coordination between formal and informal carers. Applying the framework to six case studies found that they all aim to foster independence, while providing effective individualised, holistic housing support.     

Decide your time: Testing deterrence theory's certainty and celerity effects on substance-using probationers

Background

Bolstered by the initial effectiveness of programs such as Hawaii's Project HOPE, the resurgence in practical applications of deterrence theory has focused on certainty and swiftness of punishment. Following this theoretical trend, Delaware's Decide Your Time (DYT) program was designed to manage high risk substance-using probationers by focusing on the certainty of detection through frequent drug tests and graduated but not severe sanctions.

Objective

This paper, stemming from a larger process evaluation of DYT, reports on the theoretical development and implementation issues involved in instituting such a program in a large, urban probation department.

Methods

Data for the current effort consisted of notes taken at DYT management and staff meetings, interviews with key informants, and observational fieldwork.

Results

The evaluation demonstrated that judicial practices, client eligibility, logistics, and cooperation with secure facilities all posed noteworthy issues for program implementation. Perhaps just as important is the willingness of the program managers to listen to front line officers and make necessary changes to ensure the program's effectiveness and efficiency.

Conclusion

This study suggests that the design of similar programs should carefully consider the local legal structure and the policies and practices of the corrections institutions, treatment providers, and probation department.     

Not so great expectations: why we should accept and respect hopelessness and futility

Medicine and health care attempt to prevent and cure disease, restore lost function, and relieve suffering. These are positive aspirations in the face of disvalued states of being. Part of the approach to countering illness can be to encourage or therapeutically increase such states as optimism, emotional wellbeing, peace and meaning, and to try to decrease mental and existential distress and despair, feelings of vulnerability, feelings of loss and loss of meaning. The column briefly examines examples from three fields--cancer, psychotherapy and end-of-life--and the relationships between therapeutic and social pressures for optimism and hope, on the one hand, and wellbeing, health and freedom, on the other. It suggests that in each field there are risks that arise from premature and/or excessive accentuation of the positive, and neglect of the presence and importance of what is conventionally regarded as the negative.