The development of the South Australian Civil Service 1836-1916

The South Australian Civil Service began in I836 as a 'formed' bureaucracy. It was, for example, classified in a rudimentary fashion, duties were defined and pluralities were few. In the period before responsible government (1836), though not remarkably inefficient, the Service came under strong attack from colonial politicians as it grew in size and cost, for it was regarded as a creature of the Governor. Colonists asserted their right to be informed about the work of the government departments, and regulating Acts of 1832 and 183^- arose directly from this situation. Most colonists knew little of the workings of the Service, and were suspicious of it, but the selfesteem of officials grew throughout the early years as they emphasized the importance of their contribution to the young colony. In the period 1837-7^ a close relationship grew up between the heads of departments and a small Ministerial 'elite' owing to the conservative and cautious instincts of both groups, their feeling of mutual dependence and the developing ideas of 'service' and 'duty' at the top of the Service. The heads were mostly young men who had risen quickly to the top through a combination of fortuitous circumstances and the gap separating them from their subordinates, in terms of salary and social status, was wide. They were eager to conserve the status quo and the development of the colony in these years was steady rather than spectacular. Ministers also, having made some early financial reforms and having brought a number of boards into the departmental structure, were intent on running a going concern. Barring scandal or corruption, the heads had absolute control over the personnel practices of their departments, and the Service was small enough to permit informal consultation between them on related matters. They were not restricted by staff organizations and so those in a position formally to regulate the Service were not interested in doing so. A Civil Service Act of 187^- was no more than an unenthusiastic attempt to alleviate discontent in the lower ranks of the Service, mixed with a feeling of obligation towards subordinate officers and a realization that the Act could be ignored at any time (as it soon was). After 187^ fresh economic pressures, the arrival of new men at the top of politics and administration and a rapid expansion of governmental functions (especially in railways and public works) after twenty years of consolidation broke down the comfortable relationship between Ministers and senior officials. The Civil Service was in a less privileged position, certain of its financial rights were revoked, it had to adapt itself to new tasks and the status of its members in the community declined. Partly because of this the Civil Service Association, consisting almost exclusively of senior officials, was formed (l884) to gain from governments concessions that had previously been granted informally and as a matter of course. Economic troubles and dissension within the Service itself, however, ensured that legislative and public attention was directed towards cutting the cost of the Service, and politicians proposed a Civil Service Board to effect this. The proposal drew support from the early notions that the Service should be open to public inspection, although initially the Board was seen as playing only a narrow financial role. Senior officials feared that a Board would trench upon their own powers if instituted and their fears were confirmed when a Royal Commission (l888-9l), set up to advise on retrenchment, instead recommended a Board of wide powers. However, this went too far for the legislators, whose flagging interest rendered the too-energetic Reports of the Commission ineffective for more than twenty years, a situation which the Association did its best to make permanent. But it could not raise the declining financial and social position of officers and, having failed to restore the old administrative ethos, was forced gradually to widen its membership to remain in existence. During the 1890s a number of internal battles were fought between the old guard and lower grade employees dissatisfied with their lot, with piecemeal reforms, and with the efforts of the Association. This latter group turned to the discarded idea of an independent Board to manage the Service and urged its adoption after gaining control of the Association. Neither press, Parliament nor public displayed interest in the matter - partly because the Service itself had for too long been divided about it - but the example of other states and the need to integrate servicemen into government employment eventually precipitated acceptance of the proposal for an independent personnel authority in the Public Service Act of 1916

Upregulation of basolateral small conductance potassium channels (KCNQ1/KCNE3) in ulcerative colitis

Background Basolateral K+ channels hyperpolarize colonocytes to ensure Na+ (and thus water) absorption. Small conductance basolateral (KCNQ1/KCNE3) K+ channels have never been evaluated in human colon. We therefore evaluated KCNQ1/KCNE3 channels in distal colonic crypts obtained from normal and active ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Methods KCNQ1 and KCNE3 mRNA levels were determined by qPCR, and KCNQ1/KCNE3 channel activity in normal and UC crypts, and the effects of forskolin (activator of adenylate cyclase) and UC-related proinflammatory cytokines on normal crypts, studied by patch clamp recording. Results Whereas KCNQ1 and KCNE3 mRNA expression was similar in normal and UC crypts, single 6.8 pS channels were seen in 36% of basolateral patches in normal crypts, and to an even greater extent (74% of patches, P < 0.001) in UC crypts, with two or more channels per patch. Channel activity was 10-fold higher (P < 0.001) in UC crypts, with a greater contribution to basolateral conductance (5.85 ± 0.62 mS cm−2) than in controls (0.28 ± 0.04 mS cm−2, P < 0.001). In control crypts, forskolin and thromboxane A2 stimulated channel activity 30-fold and 10-fold respectively, while PGE2, IL-1β, and LTD4 had no effect. Conclusions KCNQ1/KCNE3 channels make only a small contribution to basolateral conductance in normal colonic crypts, with increased channel activity in UC appearing insufficient to prevent colonic cell depolarization in this disease. This supports the proposal that defective Na+ absorption rather than enhanced Cl− secretion, is the dominant pathophysiological mechanism of diarrhea in UC

Cross-sectional analysis of association between socioeconomic status and utilization of primary total hip joint replacements 2006-7 : Australian orthopaedic association national joint replacement registry

Background The utilization of total hip replacement (THR) surgery is rapidly increasing, however few data examine whether these procedures are associated with socioeconomic status (SES) within Australia. This study examined primary THR across SES for both genders for the Barwon Statistical Division (BSD) of Victoria, Australia.Methods Using the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry data for 2006&ndash;7, primary THR with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) among residents of the BSD was ascertained. The Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage was used to measure SES; determined by matching residential addresses with Australian Bureau of Statistics census data. The data were categorised into quintiles; quintile 1 indicating the most disadvantaged. Age- and sex-specific rates of primary THR per 1,000 person years were reported for 10-year age bands using the total population at risk.Results Females accounted for 46.9% of the 642 primary THR performed during 2006&ndash;7. THR utilization per 1,000 person years was 1.9 for males and 1.5 for females. The highest utilization of primary THR was observed in those aged 70&ndash;79&thinsp;years (males 6.1, and females 5.4 per 1,000 person years). Overall, the U-shaped pattern of THR across SES gave the appearance of bimodality for both males and females, whereby rates were greater for both the most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged groups.Conclusions Further work on a larger scale is required to determine whether relationships between SES and THR utilization for the diagnosis of OA is attributable to lifestyle factors related to SES, or alternatively reflects geographic and health system biases. Identifying contributing factors associated with SES may enhance resource planning and enable more effective and focussed preventive strategies for hip OA. <br /

Decision quality instrument for treatment of hip and knee osteoarthritis: a psychometric evaluation

Abstract Background A high quality decision requires that patients who meet clinical criteria for surgery are informed about the options (including non-surgical alternatives) and receive treatments that match their goals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical sensibility of a patient self report instrument, to measure the quality of decisions about total joint replacement for knee or hip osteoarthritis. Methods The performance of the Hip/Knee Osteoarthritis Decision Quality Instrument (HK-DQI) was evaluated in two samples: (1) a cross-sectional mail survey with 489 patients and 77 providers (study 1); and (2) a randomized controlled trial of a patient decision aid with 138 osteoarthritis patients considering total joint replacement (study 2). The HK-DQI results in two scores. Knowledge items are summed to create a total knowledge score, and a set of goals and concerns are used in a logistic regression model to develop a concordance score. The concordance score measures the proportion of patients whose treatment matched their goals. Hypotheses related to acceptability, feasibility, reliability and validity of the knowledge and concordance scores were examined. Results In study 1, the HK-DQI was completed by 382 patients (79%) and 45 providers (58%), and in study 2 by 127 patients (92%), with low rates of missing data. The DQI-knowledge score was reproducible (ICC = 0.81) and demonstrated discriminant validity (68% decision aid vs. 54% control, and 78% providers vs. 61% patients) and content validity. The concordance score demonstrated predictive validity, as patients whose treatments were concordant with their goals had more confidence and less regret with their decision compared to those who did not. Conclusions The HK-DQI is feasible and acceptable to patients. It can be used to assess whether patients with osteoarthritis are making informed decisions about surgery that are concordant with their goals

The Greens: what way ahead?

2 page(s

Huntington's dog that didn't bark: Africa in the 'Clash of Civilisations'

5 page(s

Coombs - politics and administration of defence

5 page(s

The NSW state election 2007 thre contest beneath

6 page(s

Challenges for parliament in South Africa

It can well be argued that parliamentary democracy came to South Africa little more than a decade ago, when a parliamentary system based upon universal suffrage was established in a bicameral national parliament and in nine unicameral provincial assemblies. Whether or not the parliament of the new system was the dominant institution of the new democracy remains an issue. Assessing the nature of parliament's relationship with executive power must involve an assessment of the political context that envelopes both, and in South Africa an important aspect of that context is the particular way that the party has bound executive and parliamentary offices together. But when a party is as dominant as the ANC, questions about its internal democracy require even more attention than might be needed in an older and more widely understood system of parliamentary government.17 page(s

Book review : "The citizens' bargain: a documentary history of Australian views since 1890"

1 page(s