Demand Responsive Services: Towards an Analytical Framework for Administrative Practice in Indigenous Settlements

Demand responsiveness is an established principle in the efficient operation of markets. The principle has been applied to government services in international development overseas, and mainstream government service delivery in Australia, but only recently to Indigenous settlements. Shifting the balance in services from supply to demand is seen to have the potential to improve access, outcomes, and sustainability of services. In Indigenous settlements, an important relationship between demand and supply of services does exist, but a deeper analysis is necessary beyond the economic model to account for the complex sociopolitical geographies involved. Further research is required to develop a framework to explain the interactions that occur in practice, to determine the conditions which permit productive relationships to develop between consumers and service providers. The article presents an analytical framework through which to proceed, structured around five proposed research questions.     

Interrogating sub-Saharan Africa's high economic growth rate and low poverty reduction rate: A poverty paradox?

Sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) high economic growth coincides with an increase in the level of poverty. In a panel of 40 SSA countries over a 30-year period, while accounting for the potential spillover effect of poverty in the region. The study found that economic growth recorded over the years has not translated to poverty reduction, particularly, in resource-rich economies of SSA. The result also shows that income inequality worsens the effect of economic growth on poverty and that the poverty-reducing effectiveness of growth varies considerably across sectors, across space, and over time. The research findings suggest that governments across the region, particularly, in oil-exporting countries in SSA must diversify the economy away from oil (toward the service sector) to reduce poverty in the region.     

Design and Crime: Proofing Electronic Products and Services against Theft

This paper introduces the work of Project Marc (an EU-funded project to develop mechanisms for assessing the risk of crime) and discusses both difficulties encountered throughout the project and progress made since the project ended. The authors introduce the papers contained within this special edition and summarise their relevance to crime-proofing. The paper discusses progress made within this field in the decade prior to Project Marc and makes recommendations to ensure that the ideas move forward.

浅谈高校图书馆的服务功能

随着知识经济和信息社会的到来,高校图书馆职能正发生重大变革,为了更好地服务于高校教学和科研工作,高校图书 馆必须适应时代的变化,更新服务观念,改变服务模式,构建多功能服务体系,提高服务主体素质,全面提高服务水平和质量。     

公共服务市场化：政府职能转变的必由之路

公共服务市场化是当今世界各国行政改革的发展趋向。它可以使政府从繁杂的公共事务中脱离出来,提高工作效率,也可以真正实现资源的有效配置,体现公平与效率的统一。各级政府在推进公共服务市场化过程中,要制定出符合当地实际的商业化和市场化的制度设计。     

菲律宾农业的衰落与政府的对策

菲律宾作为“绿色革命”的策源地之一 ,其农业曾在 60 - 70年代取得过较快的发展。自 70年代初期起 ,政府在土地改革、垄断经营、保护贸易等方面的政策出现了失误 ,降低了农业生产的活力 ,从而使其走向衰落。本文对引起菲律宾农业衰落的原因加以分析探讨 ,并论述近年来政府为振兴农业所采取的举措。     

“It’s Another Way Of Making A Really Big Fuss” Human Rights And Women’s Activism In The United Kingdom: An Interview With Tania Pouwhare

Following the “Encountering Human Rights” conference in January 2007, Emily Grabham interviewed Tania Pouwhare, a women’s rights activist working at the Women’s Resource Centre in London. Their discussion engaged with the professionalisation of activism, funding constraints and New Labour policies and their impact on immigrant women. Against a background of financial insecurity and huge demand for their services, many women’s organisations in the United Kingdom struggle to use human rights law to advance women’s rights. Nevertheless, the rhetoric of human rights remains powerful within women’s activism, and law remains relevant as a potential form of ‘direct action’ and “another way of making a really big fuss”.     

The Image of Fathers in Popular Adolescent Fiction

With the number of single parent homes on the increase, many children must derive their ideas of roles and responsibilities of fathers from secondary sources, especially books. The picture of fathers that emerges from popular adolescent novels is a disturbing one, with father being commonly portrayed as ineffectual, uncaring, or absent. Significant examples from currently popular books are discussed.     

小城镇女性农民工性服务研究——以L市Y区为例

20世纪70年代末以来,商业性性服务在中国大陆重新蔓延,近十几年甚至在一些地方扩展成为一个严重的社会问题。本文在以往研究的基础上,从主体建构与社会性别视角出发,突出女性性服务者的主观感受,试图从她们的角度来解读她们眼中的性服务。在研究过程中,采用深度访谈的方法,从被调查者那里获得直接的第一手材料,对小城镇进城农村女性性服务者进行观照,并将这一群体放到整个妇女就业的全局中,考察这一群体的基本特征,考察她们为什么会进入性服务业,以及进入性服务业后的生活体验。最后,在调研的基础上提出了解决这一问题的几点建议。     

妇联组织参与社会管理和公共服务的新思考

在新的社会管理架构下,妇联组织更突出了其非政府组织的性质,获得了新的历史定位、任务和新的发展空间。在这一新的定位下,妇联组织的工作需要贯穿"同情"、"尊重""、信任""、关心"等价值理念,遵循层次性、民主性、赋权、平等合作的工作原则。妇联组织的具体工作可以分解为三个层面:在公共政策决策层面,推动社会性别意识的决策主流化;在社会管理层面,推动妇女参与基层民主自治和民主管理;在服务层面,创造性地打造个性化的公共服务产品。