Commission Impossible? A New Approach To Workplace Relations in the PSMPC

This is a short story about turning commitment into action. It tells how the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission negotiated with its employees to create a certified agreement under the new Workplace Relations Act 1996. The authors conclude that a careful, consultative process has built greater trust within their organisation.     

Population,resources, and technology: political implications of the environmental crisis

An examination is made of the political and potentially conflicting implications of the current global predicament with regard to population growth, finite resources, and the negative environmental influence of technological development. The problem is borken down and discussed in the following manner: 1) the international implications of population dynamics, resource constraints and distribution, and technological developments; 2) the interdependencies and reverberating effects associated with efforts to cope with any one dimension singly; and 3) the ways by which the conduct of research in the academic community can address itself more clearly to environmental problems. A prime objective is to highlight the implications for the developed as well as the less developed world. Thus, the empirical analysis centers around Japan, the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and the U.S.     

Prenatal diagnosis,genetics and reproductive decision-making

Recent developments in genetic science will potentially have a significant impact on reproductive decision-making by adding to the list of conditions which can be diagnosed through prenatal diagnosis. This article analyses the jurisdictional variations that exist in Australian abortion laws and examines the extent to which Australian abortion laws specifically provide for termination of pregnancy on the grounds of fetal disability. The article also examines the potential impact of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis on reproductive decision-making and considers the meaning of reproductive autonomy in the context of the new genetics.