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The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers
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Showing 1 to 7 of 7 (0.086 seconds)Spelling suggestions: "subject:"commonwealth government"" "subject:"commonwealths government""
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A Study of Commonwealth Public InquiriesPrasser, Gavin Scott, n/a January 2004 (has links)
This thesis seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the extent and use of public inquiries appointed by the Commonwealth government since federation. Given the increased incidence in public inquiries since the 1970s, particular attention is given to assessing inquiries during this period. The thesis develops a clear definition of public inquiries to better identify the number established and to distinguish them from other advisory institutions and to allow more accurate comparison of their use by different governments over extended timeframes. The thesis addresses a number of key issues concerning public inquiries such as the reasons for their appointment, their roles and functions in the political system, their powers of investigation, processes of operation, their different organisational forms and their impact on policy development. In addition, the thesis seeks to explain both the long term use of public inquiries in Australia, and in particular their increased incidence since the 1970s. Supported by new data, and a more rigorous definition of public inquiries, the thesis identifies trends in the number and type of public inquiries appointed, their use by different governments, the range of issues investigated, the processes employed and the changing composition of their memberships. The thesis proposes that an important means of explaining the continuing appointment of inquiries is their intrinsic 'publicness' - their public appointment, external membership, temporary nature, open processes, and public reporting arrangements. This 'publicness' has given public inquiries a particular standing and legitimacy in the political system that for a variety of reasons, other institutions are increasingly unable to provide. Other issues concerning public inquiry appointment such as the effect of government partisanship, the impact of the electoral cycle, and the political motivations of governments are also assessed. A number of theories such as public choice are examined in relation to explaining inquiry appointment and found to have limited application in providing an overall explanation of inquiry use and their functions. These different issues are analysed by examination of many individual inquiries and supplemented by in depth assessment of three clusters of case studies. The case studies cover seven inquiries of different types and powers appointed over a twenty year period by both Labor and Coalition governments into a range of different fields including public sector reform, allegations of corruption and maladministration and financial deregulation. Each set of case studies examines why the inquiries were appointed, their classification and type, the processes employed, the form and content of their reports, and their policy impact. The thesis concludes that in examining why public inquiries are appointed and their roles in the political system, they need to be assessed not just by the effectiveness of their processes or the quality of their advice. These are important, but alone are not sufficient in explaining the persistent use of inquiries by all governments and their proliferation since the 1970s. The thesis contends that it is the 'publicness' of inquiries which distinguishes them from other advisory bodies and gives inquiries particular standing in the Australian political system to be perceived to be able to legitimately investigate and advise on a wide of issues. Despite the growth of other advisory bodies in recent times, public inquiries have continued to be appointed in increasing numbers since the early 1970s regardless of the government in power and therefore need to be seen less as an aberration of the Australian political system and more as an important, if often understudied, component. Future research areas recommended include the need for greater comparative analysis of their use with other Westminster democracies such as the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.
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Compensation for Commonwealth Government employees 1901-1980 : an admnistrative historyHughes, Ronald William, n/a January 1982 (has links)
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The establishment of a national curriculum centreMoran, Beth, n/a January 1980 (has links)
This study examines the establishment of the national curriculum centre and the historical, political, social and educational
factors which contributed to the decision of the Minister for
Education on the recommendation of the Australian Education Council,
to establish such a centre.
This study looks at the historical background which resulted in
States' responsibility for education, at the Australian Constitution
which avoids any mention of education but which allows Commonwealth
support for education through grants to the States. It briefly traces
the development of an increasing Commonwealth involvement in education,
notes the very significant inquiries at national level into areas of
need resulting in reports such as the Murray Martin, Karmel and Kangan
recommending Commonwealth funding for specific areas of education.
Other significant institutions and influences are identified. These
include bodies such as the Australian Council for Education Research,
the Conference of Directors' General and the Australian Education Council.
The Commonwealth Department of Education is seen to play a major part in
the decision to establish a national curriculum centre supported as it
has been in this policy, by all major political parties and by successive
governments in office.
Much of this concern for curriculum reflects an environment of change
typical of the 60's both educationally and politically. It was a period
when philosophies of education and attitudes to the whole process of
schooling were being questioned.
Some influence emerges from contact by Australian teachers and academics
with major overseas curriculum centres, notably the Schools Council and
from large scale curriculum projects both in the U.S. and the U.K., notably
in the area of science.
A variety of factors contributed to the Australian Science Education
Project as a major national curriculum program which gave support to the
view that all States and systems could and would co-operate, with some
Commonwealth support, in the provision of curriculum materials and the
development of curricula with relevance for all Australian students.
UNESCO conferences such as that at Burwood in 1967 on the "Teaching
of the Social Sciences at the Secondary Level" and the Sydney one
concerned with the Teaching of English, among others, brought together
a range of concerned teachers who were involved in the subsequent
establishment of the National Committee on Social Science Teaching and
the National Committee for Teaching English. A third Committee, the
Asian Studies Co-ordinating Committee arose from a Commonwealth inquiry
into the teaching of Asian language and culture. These three committees
undertook programs in curriculum development which responded to the need
for work in these areas, and for the need for such programs to involve all
States and systems and to rationalise expenditure and utilise available
expertise in the curriculum area.
This study supports the view that the Curriculum Development Centre,
established under a 1975 Act of Parliament by that name, is a unique step
in the development of a national view of education and an example of a
co-operative model of development of curriculum at a national level. It
is not solely a funding body nor does it direct funds to State Departments.
Its small budget maintains a secretariat and a curriculum staff with
involvement and concern for national issues and the avoidance of overlaps
and duplication, and for the rationalization of resources. Its decision
making process requires involvement by all State departments, by Contact
Officers from State, Catholic and Independent schools and an input from
specialists in the field, from parents, academics, and the community. In
this regard it represents a marked change from the strictly State based
curriculum pattern in Australia.
The role of the Australian Education Council, the Commonwealth Department
of Education, the Australian Council for Education Research and two major
UNESCO conferences are examined as significant influences.
This study identifies other influences, political, social, educational and
financial which were significant in the decision by the Government of the
day to establish a national curriculum centre, and the persons and institutions
which influenced that decision, and worked to achieve its establishment,
The process of change is examined and the rational, re-educative and power
co-ercive strategies used by those seeking to effect a change in school
curriculum in Australia and to establish a national centre for curriculum
development,are identified.
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Promoting quality schooling in Australia : Commonwealth Government policy-making for schools (1987-1996)Welsh, Mary, n/a January 2000 (has links)
Promoting the quality of school education has been an issue of international, national
and local significance in Australia over the past three decades. Since 1973 the pursuit
of quality in school education has been embedded in the rhetoric of educational
discourse and framed by the wider policy context.
This study focuses on the Commonwealth (federal) government's policy agenda to
promote the quality of schooling between 1987 and 1996. During this ten year period,
successive Labor governments sought to promote quality through a range of policy
initiatives and funding programs. Through extensive documentary research, fifty
semi-structured interviews and one focus group with elite policy makers and
stakeholders, the study examines how the Commonwealth government's 'quality
agenda' was constructed and perceived. An analysis of relevant government reports
and ministerial statements provides documentary evidence of this agenda, both in
terms of stated policy intentions and the actual policy initiatives and funding programs
set in place in the period 1987-1996. Set against this analysis are elite informants'
perspectives on Commonwealth policy-making in this period - how quality was
conceptualised as a policy construct and as a policy solution, the influences on
Commonwealth policies for schools, whether there was a 'quality agenda' and how
that agenda was constructed and implemented. Informants generally perceived quality
as a diffuse, but all-encompassing concept which had symbolic and substantive value
as a policy construct. In the context of Commonwealth schools' policies, quality was
closely associated with promoting equity, outcomes, accountability, national
consistency in schooling and teacher quality. Promoting the quality of 'teaching and
learning' in Australian schools took on particular significance in the 1990s through a
number of national policy initiatives brokered by the Commonwealth government.
An exploration of policy processes through interview data reveals the multi-layered
nature of policy-making in this period, involving key individuals, intergovernmental
and national forums. In particular, it highlights the importance of a strong, reformist
Commonwealth Minister (John Dawkins), a number of 'policy brokers' within and
outside government and national collaboration in constructing and maintaining the
Commonwealth's 'quality agenda' for schools. While several Australian education
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policy analysts have described policy-making in this period in terms of 'corporate
federalism' (Lingard, 1991, 1998; Bartlett, Knight and Lingard, 1991; Lingard,
O'Brien and Knight, 1993), a different perspective emerges from this study on policymaking
at the national level. Despite unprecedented levels of national collaboration on
matters related to schooling in this period, this research reveals an apparent
ambivalence on the part of some elite policy makers towards the Commonwealth's
policy agenda and its approach to schools' policy-making within the federal arena.
Policy coherence emerged as a relevant issue in this study through analysis of
interview data and a review of related Australian and international policy literature.
Overall, informants perceived the Commonwealth's quality agenda to be relatively
coherent in terms of policy intentions, but much less coherent in terms of policy
implementation. Perceptions of Commonwealth domination, state parochialism,
rivalry, delaying tactics and a general lack of trust and cooperation between policy
players and stakeholders were cited as major obstacles to 'coherent' policy-making.
An analysis of informants' views on policy-making in this period highlights features of
coherent policy-making which have theoretical and practical significance in the
Australian context.
This research also demonstrates the benefits of going beyond the study of written
policy texts to a richer analysis of recent policy history based on elite interviewing.
The wide range of views offered by elite policy makers and stakeholders in this study
both confirms and challenges established views about policy-making in the period
1987-1996. Elite interviewing lent itself to a grounded theory approach to data
collection and analysis (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). This
approach was significant in that it allowed relevant issues to emerge in the process of
research, rather than relying on 'up front' theoretical frameworks for the analysis of
data.
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Task overlap of librarians and library technicians : a study comparing the duties of librarians class one and library technicians grades two and three in special libraries in Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities in the Australian Capital TerritoryHyland, Margaret, n/a January 1990 (has links)
The present study attempted to measure the overlap of tasks being
performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two
and Three in special libraries located in Commonwealth Government
Departments and Statutory Authorities in the ACT. Overlap was also
measured between the two groups in libraries with six or more staff,
since size of library could have affected the results; and between
graduates (those employees with university or college of advanced
education degrees or graduate diplomas in library and information
science), and nongraduates (those without such qualifications).
To measure the overlap, a task list questionnaire was devised based
on task lists utilised in other research studies or which had been
the outcome of professional workshops. Work level guidelines and
position classification standards developed by pertinent Australian
employing authorities and the Library Association of Australia were
also used.
Results suggested that there may be considerable overlap in work
being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians
Grades Two and Three in the nominated libraries. Of the eight
functional areas of library work into which the task list
questionnaire was divided, only two areas, Reference, and Current
Awareness and User Services, resulted in proportions of the groups
tested being assigned the tasks in significantly different
proportions. For the six other functional areas, representing 125 of
the 160 tasks Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two
and Three performed the same tasks in similar proportions. Testing
for size of library and qualifications of respondents made very
little difference to these results.
Conclusions drawn from the present study are limited because the
questionnaire ignored the level of importance and the time occupied
in completing these tasks. Other constraints occurred in relation to
conclusions which could be made. The questionnaire methodology as
utilised by the present study is more likely to evoke responses to
what is there; and it does not identify what should be done or how
well tasks are performed. The study is limited to special libraries
within Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities
and is confined to three levels of staff only, Librarians Class One
and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three.
Despite these limitations, it seems clear that the levels of staff
included in the present study are often assigned tasks on the basis
of what tasks have to be done, rather than with regard to matching
level of task to level of position within the boundaries of the work
level guidelines; and this situation is also true of the larger
libraries with six or more staff.
These results have implications for those involved in educating
professional librarians and library technicians, for the
interpretation given by the profession to the meaning of
professionalism and for staff relations between librarians and
library technicians. Debate by the profession concerning the roles of
librarians and library technicians is an issue demanding urgent
attention.
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From paternalism to participation : the role of the Commonwealth in the administration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs policyTurner, Patricia, n/a January 1994 (has links)
n/a
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The Association of Libarians in colleges of advanced education and the committee of Australian university librarians: The evolution of two higher education library groups, 1958-1997Oakshott, Stephen Craig, School of Information, Library & Archives Studies, UNSW January 1998 (has links)
This thesis examines the history of Commonwealth Government higher education policy in Australia between 1958 and 1997 and its impact on the development of two groups of academic librarians: the Association of Librarians in Colleges in Advanced Education (ALCAE) and the Committee of Australian University Librarians (CAUL). Although university librarians had met occasionally since the late 1920s, it was only in 1965 that a more formal organisation, known as CAUL, was established to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information. ALCAE was set up in 1969 and played an important role helping develop a special concept of library service peculiar to the newly formed College of Advanced Education (CAE) sector. As well as examining the impact of Commonwealth Government higher education policy on ALCAE and CAUL, the thesis also explores the influence of other factors on these two groups, including the range of personalities that comprised them, and their relationship with their parent institutions and with other professional groups and organisations. The study focuses on how higher education policy and these other external and internal factors shaped the functions, aspirations, and internal dynamics of these two groups and how this resulted in each group evolving differently. The author argues that, because of the greater attention given to the special educational role of libraries in the CAE curriculum, the group of college librarians had the opportunity to participate in, and have some influence on, Commonwealth Government statutory bodies responsible for the coordination of policy and the distribution of funding for the CAE sector. The link between ALCAE and formal policy-making processes resulted in a more dynamic group than CAUL, with the university librarians being discouraged by their Vice-Chancellors from having contact with university funding bodies because of the desire of the universities to maintain a greater level of control over their affairs and resist interference from government. The circumstances of each group underwent a reversal over time as ALCAE's effectiveness began to diminish as a result of changes to the CAE sector and as member interest was transferred to other groups and organisations. Conversely, CAUL gradually became a more active group during the 1980s and early 1990s as a result of changes to higher education, the efforts of some university librarians, and changes in membership. This study is based principally on primary source material, with the story of ALCAE and CAUL being told through the use of a combination of original documentation (including minutes of meetings and correspondence) and interviews with members of each group and other key figures.
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