SURROGACY, SOCIAL POLICY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Surrogacy policy is a highly complex global policy that has important ramifications, yet it is unclear how a country’s socio-economic status can influence its surrogacy policy. This study quantitatively assessed the influence of economic development on surrogacy policy in 84 countries. Using an internet analytic search and comprehensive literature review, countries were identified for study. Each country’s surrogacy policy and economic development were characterized and an analysis of the relationship between economic development and surrogacy policy was conducted. The analysis demonstrated that economic development acts as a negative predictor for more liberal surrogacy policy, despite its positive impact on other social policies such as abortion and same-sex marriage. This disparity highlights the need for governments to more holistically examine their existing surrogacy policies and ensure greater internal alignment with their other social policies

Australian health policy on access to medical care for refugees and asylum seekers

Since the tightening of Australian policy for protection visa applicants began in the 1990s, access to health care has been increasingly restricted to asylum seekers on a range of different visa types. This paper summarises those legislative changes and discusses their implications for health policy relating to refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. Of particular concern are asylum seekers on Bridging Visas with no work rights and no access to Medicare. The paper examines several key questions: What is the current state of play, in terms of health screening and medical care policies, for asylum seekers and refugees? Relatedly, how has current policy changed from that of the past? How does Australia compare with other countries in relation to health policy for asylum seekers and refugees? These questions are addressed with the aim of providing a clear description of the current situation concerning Australian health policy on access to medical care for asylum seekers and refugees. Issues concerning lack of access to appropriate health care and related services are raised, ethical and practical issues are explored, and current policy gaps are investigated

Next generation engagement: Setting a research agenda for community engagement in Australia's infrastructure sector

The global infrastructure sector is thriving. But communityopposition to major projects is also rising. Australian exam-ples demonstrate the policy backflips, reputational pitfalls,and financial costs of project delays and cancellations.Failures to engage communities are surprising, given thewidespread adoption of community engagement (CE) prin-ciples and the increasing professionalization of CE roles.If acceptance of the need for CE in infrastructure is morewidespread than ever, why are we not seeing smootherproject delivery, reduced protest, and cost savings? Thisparadox is the driving force behind the Next GenerationEngagement project. This article offers a practitioners’perspective to introduce the project and present keyfindings from its 12-month pilot study aiming to establisha transdisciplinary, industry-led research agenda for CE inAustralia's infrastructure sector. The article contributes toour understanding of CE literature and research codesign.It maps out the top five priority themes for future researchto support infrastructure selection, planning and delivery.Next Generation Engagement Research Partnerships

In utero exposure to transient ischemia-hypoxemia promotes long-term neurodevelopmental abnormalities in male rat offspring

The impact of transient ischemic-hypoxemic insults on the developing fetal brain is poorly understood despite evidence suggesting an association with neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. To address this, we designed an aberrant uterine hypercontractility paradigm with oxytocin to better assess the consequences of acute, but transient, placental ischemia-hypoxemia in term pregnant rats. Using MRI, we confirmed that oxytocin-induced aberrant uterine hypercontractility substantially compromised uteroplacental perfusion. This was supported by the observation of oxidative stress and increased lactate concentration in the fetal brain. Genes related to oxidative stress pathways were significantly upregulated in male, but not female, offspring 1 hour after oxytocin-induced placental ischemia-hypoxemia. Persistent upregulation of select mitochondrial electron transport chain complex proteins in the anterior cingulate cortex of adolescent male offspring suggested that this sex-specific effect was enduring. Functionally, offspring exposed to oxytocin-induced uterine hypercontractility showed male-specific abnormalities in social behavior with associated region-specific changes in gene expression and functional cortical connectivity. Our findings, therefore, indicate that even transient but severe placental ischemia-hypoxemia could be detrimental to the developing brain and point to a possible mitochondrial link between intrauterine asphyxia and neurodevelopmental disorders

The future of impact assessment: problems, solutions and recommendations

This contribution explores key sociological and policy challenges facing impact assessment in the 21st century. In so doing, it identifies three trends that will shape the future of IA theory, policy and practice: a shift from a project-by-project approach to better accommodation of cumulative impacts; increased cross-border policymaking to address shared issues and in recognition of natural resources as planetary resources; and the development of increased and improved methods of community-based SIA that radiate out from communities’ perspectives, as opposed to overlaying project perspectives onto a community

Beyond the business case: a new institutional analysis of corporate social responsibility in Australian mining

© 2011 Dr. Sara Jane BiceToday, numerous multinational corporations attempt to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles and programs into their regular business practice. Despite its growing popularity, however, CSR remains poorly defined. Moreover, our understanding of CSR’s implications for corporations and the communities they seek to help via CSR initiatives is limited, in part, by a tendency of research to focus on ‘making a business case’ for it. This thesis adopts a new research agenda for CSR which moves beyond attempts to identify social/financial performance links. The research is instead driven by the central question: What is an effective way to improve and extend our understanding of CSR beyond business case concerns to unpack its social drivers and consequent implications for communities, corporations and industry? The thesis aims to contribute a more holistic understanding of CSR, beyond the business case, through application of an innovative theoretical framework. The research is undertaken within the context of Australian mining, an industry with significant international economic and operational reach, and in which adoption and implementation of CSR policies and programs is especially prevalent. In pursuing the central aim, the thesis has three main objectives: First, to provide a sophisticated conceptualisation of CSR which builds upon and extends existing approaches, helping to account for its progressive adoption and implementation. Secondly, to draw upon new institutionalist paradigms to construct a framework for understanding CSR which helps to identify and explain the social mechanisms which influence its adoption and perpetuation at multiple levels of analysis. Thirdly, the thesis applies this ‘second movement’ new institutionalist framework to a data set comprising five major Australian mining companies’ sustainability reports published between 2004 and 2008, in-depth interviews with representatives of nine major Australian mining companies, and case studies of two Australian communities which are host to mining operations. The thesis adopts a primarily qualitative approach. Sustainability reports are analysed using content analysis. Eleven in-depth, semi-structured interviews with senior, corporate-level mining company representatives are analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. In-community case studies involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a total of forty community opinion leaders and mining employees, as well as observations and site visits. Case study data was analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. Together, the multi-level analysis investigates how the identified social mechanisms operate in practice and explores implications for the industry, corporate headquarters and communities in which CSR programs are deployed. The analysis reveals CSR, in relation to the Australian mining industry (and especially relative to the cases studied), to be characterised by: idealised policies which are decoupled from on-ground practice through decentralised management approaches; a preference towards voluntary regulatory initiatives which are relatively unenforceable but nevertheless push-back effectively against increased involuntary regulation; compliance benchmarks which appear to offer a lower threshold than that being demanded by communities at operation sites; and a privileging of legitimacy gains achieved through ad hoc programming, in lieu of more strategic CSR approaches to support longer-term community outcomes. The thesis argues that the contradictions and disconnections identified within the institution of CSR affect the capacity for the studied mining companies’ CSR-related programs to add value to communities and be sustained over the long-term. The thesis finds that we can improve and extend our understanding of CSR beyond business case concerns by adopting a ‘second movement’ new institutionalist approach which supports a social mechanism-based framework, applicable to multiple levels of analysis. Such an approach allows us to explore social drivers, policies and practices at industry, corporate headquarter and operation site levels, creating a comprehensive portrait of CSR. More broadly, the thesis presents the potential for the middle-range theory of CSR developed within to be applied and tested in other industries and geographic locations to see if such application allows researchers to contribute to a different and more in-depth understanding of how CSR is institutionalised, its different modalities at various levels of analysis, and the implications of this for industries, firms and communities

Impact assessment for desirable futures: Perspectives from East Asia

This contribution to the Special Issue on Impact Assessment for the 21st Century invites readers to consider how recent East Asian developments concerning impact assessment (IA) may shape future IA policy and practice. It discusses the role that IA is playing and will continue to play in the rapid socio-economic development of the East Asian region. This letter surveys the region's current IA foci from a culturally sensitive lens, paying particular attention to South Korea, China and Japan. It suggests what the region's future focus and contributions to IA for 'desirable futures' are likely to be, based on current practice. Three central factors in the future of IA in the 21st century are prevalent from an East Asian vantage point: the influence of culture, the centrality of policymaking and the increase in public participation

Impact assessment for the 21st century - what future?

The third decade of the 21st century will be one of milestones and turning points for impact assessment (IA). The United States’ globally influential National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which enshrined environmental assessment (EA) into law, is 50 (see e.g. Caldwell 1988). Meanwhile, the United Nation’s much younger Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have an agenda to 2030 and the International Panel on Climate Change’s 2050 carbon neutral targets are drawing closer, while the 1.5°C and 2°C Paris Agreement targets looking frighteningly unlikely to be met (UNEP, 2019). In this context, impact assessments of all types will play an important role in delivering the evidence necessary to support climate change mitigation, promote environmental justice and advance a sustainable future. This Special Issue of Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal takes a timely opportunity to consider the shape and role of impact assessment (IA) for at least the next half-century. The Special Issue’s theme, ‘IA for the 21st century—What future?’ aims to push our thinking about IA’s prospects and potential. We asked for bold and visionary contributions that would stretch our ideas beyond existing practice and policy to envision the major opportunities, challenges, changes and paradigm shifts that are likely to shape IA. Questions our contributors grappled with included: What does the future of impact assessment look like

Public Policy in the 'Asian Centry'

This volume explores the defining features, critical approaches, challenges and opportunities for public policy in the ‘Asian Century’. This is the first book to systematically analyse the key institutions and practices that comprise public policy, administration and governance to investigate how they are changing in the context of increasing Asian influence. Its authors argue that the Asian Century holds the potential to generate a paradigm shift equivalent to the impacts of neo-liberalism and the New Public Management of the late 20th century. Divided into three parts, this volume interrogates the theories underpinning contemporary public policy; explores case studies from different policy arenas across the Asian region; and imagines what a future of globalised public policy might look like. It examines the implementation measures necessary to support policy and administration in an era of transnational governance networks, tightly linked economic markets and progressively fluid cultural exchanges. This book provides the concepts and tools necessary to navigate these shifting sands successfully. It is essential reading for scholars of public policy, public management, international relations, and politics and social sciences, as well as for administrators and public servants