More of the Same? A Dual Case Study Approach to Examining Change Momentum in the Public Sector

Despite the significant amount of change experienced by the public sector, there has been relatively limited empirical examination of how change agendas affect public sector employees in Australia. This article presents a comparative analysis of two Australian public sector organisations that implemented the same positive work change agenda, but experienced very different outcomes. Using a critical realist approach, we draw on a mix of qualitative techniques to suggest that textbook notions of ‘successful change’, which are often derived from large private sector expectations, may fail to capture the complex nature of how public sector change initiatives may unfold. In particular, we demonstrate how political, temporal, contextual, and process factors interact to shift change momentum. Illustrative examples are provided throughout and the findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory building, for change facilitation, and for future research.     

Popular Financial Reports as Fiscal Transparency Mechanisms: An Assessment Using the Fiscal Transparency Index for the Citizen User

Popular financial reports (PFRs) are intended to increase transparency by providing financial information to a non-technical, citizen audience. We examine the extent to which PFRs are meeting the goal of transparency by developing a 23-criteria fiscal transparency index for the citizen user (FTI-CU) and applying it to a sample of PFRs (popular annual financial reports and citizen-centric reports) issued by local governments in the U.S. These criteria are organized into five areas: comprehension, access, financials, appearance, and community-focused. The analysis finds that, while there are areas for improvement, the PFRs rated the highest in the access and appearance criteria.     

Friends and Education: Identity Patterns across Domains and Associations with Emotion Dysregulation and Identity Disturbance

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The task of identity development, which involves distinguishing who one is, and defining and articulating this to others, is a challenging developmental task for...     

Forensic Science for Cambodian Justice

¹Cambodia is universally associated with its killing fields– a horrific inheritance from the Khmer Rouge era. Whilstmass grave evidence from that era is referred to in historyand social science publications on Cambodia, it has not featuredin a legal context to date. The establishment of the ExtraordinaryChambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) creates an opportunityfor a review of this evidence 30 years after the events. Thosealleged to be accountable for Cambodia's killing fields arefinally being brought to justice. The question is whether thiswill occur with or without forensic science evidence from themass graves. This article explores the reasons for using forensicscience in the Cambodian context and outlines its potentialfor legal proceedings. Drawing on relevant literature in theforensic and legal areas, the article provides a brief outlineof the legal context created by the ECCC and examines variousprojects that have recorded evidence relating to the mass graves.Employing an analysis of semistructured, in-depth interviewswith forensic and legal experts as well as representatives fromthe ECCC and the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam),the article explores the value of forensic science for the ECCC,including its impact on humanitarian issues in Cambodia.     

S—s—U— phenotype in the coloured population of Cape Town: Problems encountered in paternity tests

Two Cape Coloured persons of mixed White, Khoikhoi, Malay, Black parentage in Cape Town whose red cells were found to be S—s—U— establish that the rare S^u allele is present in this population group. The most likely source of the S^u allele in them is the non-indigenous Black slaves who were brought to the Cape in the early years of White settlement there. In two paternity suits involving Cape Coloured persons, maternal and paternal exclusions were present unless the inheritance of an MS^u or an NS^u chromosome was postulated, and MS, NS and Ns chromosomes were seen to accompany He+ alleles in them.