Can Budgetary Slack Still Prevail Within New Zealand’s New Public Management?

The New Zealand (NZ) Government began its public sector reforms in 1984. The purposes of the reforms were to build a more open public sector, a plainer and clearer way of reporting, emphasising accountability and transparency (Wallace, 1993). A central focus of the reforms was to change the accounting culture by adopting accrual accounting and a 3year budgeting and planning management cycle within Government Ministries. By investigating whether or not budgetary slack is used as a risk management strategy in NZ’s new public management (NPM) control setting, this study examines how successful the reforms are, more that 20 years after their inception. Budgetary slack is the excess requirements for resources or understatement of productive capability. Slack allows a budget to be easily achieved and gives a false perception of managers’ performance, defeating the basic purpose of budgets. As little research has been conducted on this phenomenon in NZ’s NPM, this study was undertaken. Using budgetary slack and earnings management literature, an empirical model is developed to examine whether the potential for budgetary slack exists in NZ Government Ministries. The five Ministries of: Health, Education, Transport, Justice, and Building & Housing, were chosen for this study. They provide a mix of sizes and are very topical for some specific reasons within the political arena. Results of this study will be of interest to the Government, public sector managers, taxpayers, other stakeholders, and academics

Assessing the invasion potential of non-native branchiobdellidans: experimental studies of survival, reproduction and competition

The impact of invasive species on the recipient ecosystem can be strongly influenced by the presence of associated symbionts. It is therefore important to evaluate the likelihood of co-introduced symbiont establishment, and this requires an understanding of their life history traits. Here, we investigate survival, reproduction and competition in two non-native branchiobdellidan ectosymbionts (Xironogiton victoriensis and Cambarincola aff. okadai) on invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). In vivo, X. victoriensis established viable infrapopulations within 10 weeks, whereas C. aff. okadai went extinct within 2 weeks. Both X. victoriensis and C. aff. okadai deposited cocoons in vivo that hatched in 10–27 and 10–11 days, respectively. In vitro, X. victoriensis and C. aff. okadai survived for over 13 and 15 weeks respectively, although both were negatively affected by increased temperature and nitrate, and were absent from kick samples taken in the field. Only C. aff. okadai deposited cocoons in vitro, and this larger species readily predated on X. victoriensis but not vice versa. Both branchiobdellidans possess traits associated with colonisation success, including a relatively fast reproductive rate and extended off-host survival. Given its survival in vivo and known detrimental effect on signal crayfish X. victoriensis is perhaps more likely to influence host invasion dynamics, although its persistence may be affected by the presence of co-occurring symbionts

Exploring the Experience of Healthcare-Related Epistemic Injustice among People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, disabling yet clinically “contested” condition, previously theorised through a lens of epistemic injustice. Phenomena conceptually close to epistemic injustice, including stigma, are known to have deleterious consequences on a person’s health and life-world. Yet, no known primary studies have explored how people with ME/CFS experience healthcare through a lens of epistemic injustice, whilst a dearth of research explicitly exploring healthcare-related injustice from a patient perspective has been noted. This qualitative study seeks to address this gap. Semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to explore the experiences of five people with ME/CFS in the UK, vis-à-vis healthcare-related epistemic injustice. One superordinate theme is presented, “Being de-centred in patient-centred care,” alongside two sub-themes: “Struggling for epistemic-existential validation” and “Negotiating socio-epistemic hierarchies, politics and ‘power’.” Findings suggest that healthcare-related epistemic injustice may differentially impact according to the patient’s social positionality (here, notably gender), and that a potential pathway of existential harm operates through threats to identity and personhood. Findings also indicate that cultural and political factors may further epistemic injustice in healthcare. Finally, epistemic injustice impacting as a chronic stressor cannot be ruled out and is worthy of further research. The experience of healthcare-related epistemic injustice can carry far-reaching yet varied consequences for patients. Future research should consider drawing upon more socio-demographically diverse samples and an intersectional approach is recommended. Further exploration of structural drivers of epistemic injustice may highlight a need for politically and socio-culturally cognisant clinical approaches

Clinical Study Arterial Injury and Endothelial Repair: Rapid Recovery of Function after Mechanical Injury in Healthy Volunteers

Objective. Previous studies suggest a protracted course of recovery after mechanical endothelial injury; confounders may include degree of injury and concomitant endothelial dysfunction. We sought to define the time course of endothelial function recovery using flow-mediated dilation (FMD), after ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) and mechanical injury in patients and healthy volunteers. The contribution of circulating CD133 + /CD34 + /VEGFR2 + "endothelial progenitor" (EPC) or repair cells to endothelial repair was also examined. Methods. 28 healthy volunteers aged 18-35 years underwent transient forearm ischaemia induced by cuff inflation around the proximal biceps and radial artery mechanical injury induced by inserting a wire through a cannula. A more severe mechanical injury was induced using an arterial sheath and catheter inserted into the radial artery of 18 patients undergoing angiography. Results. IR and mechanical injury produced immediate impairment of FMD (from 6.5 ± 1.2% to 2.9 ± 2.2% and from 7.4 ± 2.3% to 1.5 ± 1.6% for IR and injury, resp., each < 0.001) but recovered within 6 hours and 2 days, respectively. FMD took up to 4 months to recover in patients. Circulating EPC did not change significantly during the injury/recovery period in all subjects. Conclusions. Recovery of endothelial function after IR and mechanical injury is rapid and not associated with a change in circulating EPC

An Intervention for Sensory Difficulties in Children with Autism: A Randomized Trial.

This study evaluated a manualized intervention for sensory difficulties for children with autism, ages 4-8 years, using a randomized trial design. Diagnosis of autism was confirmed using gold standard measures. Results show that the children in the treatment group (n = 17) who received 30 sessions of the occupational therapy intervention scored significantly higher (p = 0.003, d = 1.2) on Goal Attainment Scales (primary outcome), and also scored significantly better on measures of caregiver assistance in self-care (p = 0.008 d = 0.9) and socialization (p = 0.04, d = 0.7) than the Usual Care control group (n = 15). The study shows high rigor in its measurement of treatment fidelity and use of a manualized protocol, and provides support for the use of this intervention for children with autism. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for practice and future research