Outcome‐focussed planning in Australian local government: How council plans and cultural development plans measure up

Contemporary public policy increasingly emphasises a focus on outcomes, the difference that occurs in the lives of citizens from policy and activity of government. Other contemporary imperatives for effective planning include: recognition of the values of the community whom plans serve, direction towards goals and objectives, utilisation of evidence, articulation of theories of change that underpin planning and responsiveness to evaluation. This article reports a desk‐based research project to assess how local government planning documents meet these imperatives. Two documents are examined for 67 councils across Australia: the major strategic document, council plan or other‐named document and the cultural development plan (CDP) or other‐named document that directs staff and investment aimed at cultural enrichment of the LGA. Findings indicate that the majority of councils’ documents appeared only concordant with one or two of these planning imperatives. No plan addressed more than three. Overall, council plans and cultural development plans did not clearly indicate their responsiveness to values of their communities, nor include objectives that formed measurable steps towards goals or formally refer to the use of evidence in decision‐making. No plans included theories of change to underpin decision‐making. This analysis indicates clear areas of improvement for planning for local governance.     

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS: INSTITUTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS TO FACILITATE AWARENESS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ISSUES

In 1995, China first claimed the designation as the number one location for parents from the United States seeking to adopt children. The children, for the most part girls, are between 6 and 20 months old, when they are adopted. Most of the girls that were adopted in 1995 are now entering into their preteen years, and if they have not already confronted the issue of who they are, they will soon be forced to. Adoption is a complicated and emotional process that affects the entire family. Traditionally, parents who adopt have been able to consciously choose when and how they will first tell their child that they are adopted. However, when the adopted child is a member of a transracial family, where the parents and adoptive child are obviously of a different race, this decision can sometimes be taken out of their hands by a stranger thoughtlessly asking, “Is she yours?” The parents who choose to adopt from a foreign country should be prepared to answer this question and numerous others before they bring their adopted child home. This note will explore the concept of incorporating educational programs into the intercountry adoption process as an effective method of educating prospective parents on the challenges that transracial families will confront.     

建立中央统筹的进城农民工社会保障制度——兼与中国人民大学李迎生教授商榷

进城农民工的社会保障制度涉及国家、企业和个人三方利益,为了规避代表国家的地方政府、企业和农民工个人的“经济人”消极行为,必须绕过户籍制度障碍,建立中央统筹的进城农民工社会保障制度。     

适应学科发展需要优化人才培养方案——公安高职高专刑事科学技术专业人才培养方案改革的探索

人才培养方案是高等学校人才培养工作的总体设计和实施方案,是学校组织教学、进行教学管理和改革的主要依据。新形势下,公安刑事科学技术专业人才培养方案应以构建学生科学的知识、能力、素质结构为基础,不断优化整合教学内容和课程设置,着力培养学生的实践动手能力和创新精神。     

从二元到一元:城乡社会结构转换的政策取向

要实现城乡社会结构从二元到一元的转换，就必须选择适宜的社会政策，即：改革户籍制度，选择城市化发展道路，消解城乡二元社会保障结构，建立城乡统筹就业体制。     

我国不起诉制度的产生和发展

中国古代历史上在严刑的前提下因时而赦的思想、宽严相济思想、严格的控告受理制度,是我国不起诉制度产生与发展的基石;新中国建国前后区别对待、分化瓦解的刑事政策,是中国不起诉制度产生和发展的理论基础。1956年以法律规范的形式规定了免予起诉制度,1996年3月刑诉法修正案取消了免予起诉制度,扩大了不起诉的范围。     

新冠疾病对法医学鉴定的影响和挑战

新冠疾病疫情之下,法医学鉴定活动不可能停止,法医学鉴定的对象可能为COVID-19。开展鉴定的法医人员面临很大的感染风险,因此法医鉴定机构和法医鉴定人应当提高感染风险认识,加强防控措施,提升防控应对能力,遵守法律及伦理规范,加强与临床有关问题研究。     

美国有限合伙法上“安全港规则”——以有限责任界定为中心

"安全港规则"是美国有限合伙法上一项有限责任的重要认定规则,它与"控制权规则""信赖检验规则"等其他规则共同构成美国有限责任界定的规则体系,在保持有限合伙人有限责任保护和管理权扩张的平衡中发挥着重要作用。中国移植的美国的"安全港规则"在当下有限合伙运用中却面临种种困难和挑战,存在"南橘北枳"制度移植失败的风险。研究美国有限合伙法中"安全港规则"的嬗变和运用的经验,可以为我国修改和完善有限合伙法上的"安全港规则"提供重要借鉴。     

美国少数民族高等教育的历史和未来

少数民族问题是美国的一个十分严重的社会问题,几十年来,美国少数民族高等教育取得了不小的进展,但仍困难重重,前景不容乐观。     

建设社会主义新农村必须实现十个统筹

建设社会主义新农村,必须以科学发展观和国家“十一五”规划为指导,把县级政府作为城乡统筹的主体,以实现产业布局、市场体系、规划建设、户籍制度、劳动就业、公共财政、劳动保险、医疗保险、义务教育、行政管理等十个方面的统筹为基本目标。