Institutionalising a National Approach to Performance Reporting: Lessons from Two Decades of Experience with the Report on Government Services

The Report on Government Services (RoGS) to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is considered an exemplar of benchmarking in a federal system. Published annually since 1997, RoGS provides performance reporting in the form of cross jurisdictional benchmarking on an unprecedented scale and scope. This paper argues ROGS has institutionalised a national approach to performance measurement and reporting that is now at the centre of the COAG reform agenda. The paper examines the processes and institutional structures that explain how RoGS has transformed performance reporting for social infrastructure services. The final section provides a preliminary assessment of the impact of RoGS.     

Social networks and the study of relations: networks as method,metaphor and form

Abstract

Networks have recently become fashionable in social analysis but most of the new network approaches have paid scant attention to the long history of reflections upon the potential of networks as an analytical device in the social sciences. In this paper we chart the developments in networking thinking in two disciplinary areas – social network analysis and social anthropology – in order to highlight the enduring difficulties and problems with network thinking as well as its potential. The first half of the paper explores the uses of network approaches over the past fifty years, situating theoretical and methodological questions in their broader disciplinary contexts. The authors then show how emerging issues from both bodies of work offer the promise of new kinds of networking thinking.     

Reforming the Spanish Senate: Mission Impossible?

Attempts in recent years to reform the Spanish Senate have proven futile. Using an institutionalist approach, this article highlights some of the weaknesses of the Spanish Senate in terms of its constitutional design and institutional development. The article explains how attempts at reforming political institutions are influenced by the historical context in which the institution was originally designed and the political context in which it has subsequently developed. The debate over Senate reform is analysed by examining the Senate's institutional setting and its relationships to broader political settings such as the legacy of the transition to democracy, political party discourse, and a competitive culture in Spain's system of intergovernmental relations.     

Subprime catalyst: Financial regulatory reform and the strengthening of US carbon market governance

The 2008 financial crisis has had an important, but neglected, impact on carbon market governance in the United States. It acted as a catalyst for the emergence of a domestic coalition that drew upon the crisis experience to demand stronger regulation over carbon markets. The influence of this coalition was seen first in the changing content of draft climate change bills between 2008 and 2010. But the coalition's more lasting legacy was its role in shaping the content of, and supporting, the passage of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd–Frank bill) in July 2010. Although that bill was aimed primarily at bolstering financial stability, its derivatives provisions strengthened carbon market regulation in significant ways. This policy episode demonstrates new patterns of coalition building in carbon market politics as well as the growing links between climate governance and financial regulatory politics. At the same time, the significance of these developments should not be overstated because of various limitations in the content and implementation of the Dodd–Frank bill, as well as the waning support for carbon markets more generally within the US since the bill's passage.     

构建科学发展制度机制的路径思考

党的十八大报告指出"科学发展观是中国特色社会主义理论体系最新成果,是中国共产党集体智慧的结晶,是指导党和国家全部工作的强大思想武器。科学发展观同马克思列宁主义、毛泽东思想、邓小平理论、‘三个代表’重要思想一道,是党必须长期坚持的指导思想。"坚持科学发展观,就要把科学发展思想转化为刚性的政治经济文化等制度,提出构建与科学发展观相配套的制度机制,以确保经济社会实现又好又快发展。     

“美丽中国”愿景与生态文明制度建设

“美丽中国、民生幸福”是中华儿女世世代代的不懈追求,内涵着实现生态价值导向的人与社会的现代化和中华民族的永续发展的愿景目标。要实现美好愿景,最根本的是加强生态文明制度建设,包括正式制度和非正式制度。我国的生态保护规制体系已经形成,人民大众的生态意识日益觉醒,已经汇成了推动生态文明建设的强大社会力量。进一步的制度建设,应针对存在的问题,抓好顶层设计,注重系统集成,实行分类指导,填补制度空白,优化制度衔接与匹配,完善、细化、系统化制度体系,增强执行力,从根本上解决守法成本高、违犯成本低的问题。同时着力提升全民生态意识,培育全民生态责任,构筑政府、企业、社区、家庭、个人齐心协力进行生态文明建设的大格局。     

Experiencing Community Psychology Through Community-Based Learning Class Projects: Reflections From an American University in the Middle East

Many introductory community psychology courses do not incorporate community-based learning (CBL), and when they do, it is most often in the form of individualized volunteer hours. We present an alternative model for CBL in which the entire class collaborates on an experiential project that promotes community action. We believe that such an approach better embodies the values and methods of the discipline and has a more powerful impact on the students and stakeholders. It may be especially effective in developing countries that do not have an established network of service infrastructures; in such nations the onus is on the teachers and learners of community psychology to contribute to transformative change. In this article practical guidelines are provided by the instructor regarding how to structure and implement this CBL model. Additionally, two students describe how the CBL experience solidified their learning of course concepts and significantly impacted them personally.     

简论信访制度功能的改进路径——以信访制度纠纷解决功能为讨论中心

信访制度在我国的社会生活中发挥着难以替代的作用,其所承载的公民政治参与、意见表达与权利救济功能不能截然分开,中央和省(市)级信访工作应以公民意见表达为中心,基层信访工作应以纠纷解决(公民权利救济)为中心。信访制度纠纷解决功能的实现机制而非这一功能本身,是造成目前信访困境的根本原因;为保障人们的合法权益,化解目前的信访困境,对信访制度纠纷解决功能的实现机制进行法治化改造或许是改良信访制度的可能路径。     

中国政府机构改革30年回顾与反思

本文以30年改革开放历史为线索,对中国政府机构6次改革进行了回顾与反思,认为:中国政府机构改革的核心是适应经济和社会发展的需要来调整政府机构的结构与运行,重点调整政府与社会、政府与市场、中央与地方的关系。在回顾机构改革的目标、方向与内容的基础上,本文对改革的价值与缺失进行了探讨。