Showing papers on "White paper published in 1999"

The UK competitiveness white paper - Our competitive future: building the knowledge-driven economy

Abstract: Abstract The UK Government's White Paper on Competitiveness sets out the role it and business needs to play in improving the UK's position. It is of interest in the technology field because of the great emphasis it puts on the importance of information technology and telecommunications.

The assessment: knowledge, skills, and competitiveness

Abstract: The autumn 1988 issue of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy considered the UK's deficiencies in vocational education and training (VET). It was there that Finegold and Soskice first popularized the notion of the 'low skills/low quality' equilibrium. This Assessment originally introduces a range of articles which discussed developments in the decade that has passed since then in the same journal (issue no. 1, 1999). It argues that, despite massive policy initiatives, there has been only limited improvement in the UK's relative VET performance. Considerable progress has been made in analysis of market failures affecting the supply of skills, and in analysis of the possible causes and consequences of low employer demand for skills ('systems failure'). The recent Competitiveness White Paper reflects this improved understanding.

Transformation of transport policy in Great Britain

Abstract: The British Government recently issued a white paper on its future transport strategy. Its central precept is unambiguous: current trends in traffic are unsustainable, from the point of view of the environment, business efficiency, health, and the unfeasibility of providing growth in road capacity that would keep pace with predicted growth in traffic. Much of the policy logic in the white paper stems from the explicit abandonment of `predict-and-provide' as a desirable — or possible — strategy. This leads to a recognition of the importance of a co-ordinated approach to public transport, walking and cycling, together with policies aimed at reducing less necessary travel where possible; ensuring that the costs of congestion and environmental pollution are, as far as practical, met by those who cause them (in which the revenue from new pricing systems would be kept under local control and used for transport improvements); an emphasis on better maintenance and management of the road system rather than increasing its capacity; consideration of the effects on transport of other policies in land-use, health, education etc; development of institutional structures or contractual arrangements able to bring these changes about; and conditions in which people's everyday behaviour and attitudes may be in harmony with policy, finance and environmental constraints. These themes did not arise out of the blue following the general election in 1997. They evolved over many years, especially in nearly ten years of intense discussion connected with the previous two governments' recognition that the 1989 road programme (`Roads to Prosperity'), in spite of its size and expense, would still not be nearly sufficient to keep pace with traffic growth, as well as being environmentally damaging. The process of discussion and argument has not ceased with publication of the white paper. A very interesting feature of the current debate is that its central argument is widely (though not unanimously) accepted in the media, with great emphasis on the problems of implementation. The author argues that the policy shift is genuine and firmly grounded in research, though with a number of real problems in implementation, research and methodology that will have to be addressed.

The Politics of Literacy Teaching: How “Research” Shaped Educational Policy

Abstract: In this paper we trace the use of a “consensus” white paper as part of a successful educational advocacy campaign that reframed early literacy educational policies in two states. In addition we contrast the specific instructional recommendations offered in this white paper with the findings of the program of research that was purportedly “synthesized” in developing the recommendations. The successful use of this white paper as a policy lever is considered from both the “agenda-setting” and “political use of expertise” frameworks.

Internationalisation and Mental borders

Abstract: Borders are barriers and barriers are to be removed. That was the basic idea of the European Commission in 1988 when publishing the White Paper, EC, 1985. The different juridical, ®scal, social, technical and economic frameworks of the European countries in the Community were believed to be a severe limitation on the growth of Europe's competitiveness. Hence, a paradoxical measure had to be taken: the institutionalisation of a free market in the European Community. The speeding of the opening up of the borders within the European market has spawned a vast amount of literature on the economic geographical consequences of the uni®cation of the various countries. Surprisingly little, however, has been written from the perspective of human agents. The focus of economic geography tends to be on the spatial impact of the opening up of borders, and the development or economic pace and potential gains of European integration for cities and regions. How individuals perceive the opening up of borders has not received a great deal of attention in economic geographical literature. Neither have the mechanisms ± by which their actual behaviour is geared with respect to matters of the economic integration process ± been studied in depth. Yet, the micro-level of the integration process might render us important insights, which could enrich meso and macro theory development and policy. This paper makes a plea for the inclusion of the psychology of the behaviour of human agents in the study of economic geographical border issues.

Innovation Policy in a Global Economy: Technology policy in the learning economy

Abstract: There has been a major change in the perspectives on technology policy in the last couple of years. Most importantly it has been explicitly recognised that the key resource is knowledge and that it is the learning capabilities of people, firms and and national systems which dictate their relative economic success. In 1993, the European Commission in its White paper on ‘Growth, competitiveness and employment’ gave high priority to the need to reinforce the knowledge base and to invest in information infrastructures (CEC 1993. p. 10 et passim). At the G7-meeting in Detroit in March 1994 president Clinton and his advisors emphasised the need to create new high quality jobs through a strengthening of the knowledge base and investing in education, research and innovation. As a follow-up to this meeting the OECD secretariat was asked to analyse the role of technology and technology policy in relation to productivity and employment. The first major report responding to this request (OECD, 1996a) takes the shift in perspective one step further by-arguing explicitly that OECD countries are in the midst of entering a new-growth regime where knowledge and learning has become crucial for economic performance. It is also stated that in this new growth regime technology policy, including policies related to information and communication technology, becomes more important than before. Part of the reason why OECD governments have begun to take these areas more seriously is that the room for manoeuvre and effectiveness within other policy areas such as macroeconomic policy and labour market policy are becoming increasingly reduced. But it is mainly because knowledge, learning and information play an ever important role in economic development.

Sustainable transport policy: The contribution from behavioural scientists

Abstract: Publication of the UK Government's White Paper on. Transport, in July 1998, has raised public awareness of the problems associated with widespread car use. The authors argue that these problems, which largely result from the aggregated choices and behaviour of many individual car users, could be mitigated if the main determinants of car use and the underlying behavioural mechanisms were better understood. This article examines six strategies for changing social behaviour, and some important conditions for reducing car use. Examples are presented of how the insights gained can be applied in practice.

Entrepreneurial Diversification, Business-Cluster Formation, and Growth

Abstract: In its 1998 White Paper on competitiveness, the British government stressed the importance of entrepreneurship in halting Britain's apparent relative economic decline and in enhancing international...

Ready to Learn White Paper on Early Childhood Education

Abstract: The purpose of this White Paper is to set out Government policy on all issues relating to early childhood education. An essential starting point is to define what we mean by early childhood education. The Department of Education and Science‟s mission is to support the development of a high quality education system which will enable individuals to develop to their full potential as persons and to participate fully as citizens in Ireland‟s social and economic development. For many years, it was considered that education began when children went to school and ended when students left the formal education system at the end of first, second or third level. There is growing recognition of the importance of lifelong learning and the idea that children learn from the earliest moment and continue to learn throughout their lives. Education is concerned with all the phases of life, including the very early childhood phase.

Measuring oral health: does your treatment really make a difference.

Abstract: An understanding of a broader concept of health is increasingly important for all health professionals, including dentists, and has recently been incorporated as a key principle in the Government White Paper, The New NHS1. This aims to deliver a dependable, high quality, egalitarian health service. In the past, performance measurements in the UK have often relied simply on those areas which are most easily quantified. For example, within the hospital service, performance was measured in terms of the cost and the number of finished consultant episodes, from which the 'purchaser efficiency index' was calculated. This tended to produce a driving force rewarding those doing more rather than those doing more better. It is analogous to the system which has been the backbone of NHS dental practice for many years, 'fee per item of service', where throughput is rewarded rather than outcome. However, the White Paper has signalled a move away from simply counting activity. From April 1999 within the hospital service the purchaser efficiency index has been replaced with more rounded measures, reflecting the changing concepts of health, in a new broader performance framework to determine what really counts for patients. It will focus on measuring health improvement, fairer access, better quality and outcome, including the views of patients.

Quality assurance in South Africa

Abstract: Worldwide, higher education is undergoing major changes in its organisation. In this context, the concept of quality assurance control has emerged as a primary instrument for evaluating performance and accountability in higher education systems. South Africa is the latest candidate for a nationally imported system of quality assurance in the wake of several policy and legal initiatives to transform higher education after the demise of apartheid. Several contemporary developments, notably the South African Higher Education Bill and the Education White Paper 3 (Higher Education) are part of the government’s commitment to transform higher education. This paper will briefly discuss the origins and nature of quality assurance in South Africa. The article also critically reviews a number of conceptual frameworks about quality in higher education in order to develop a better and shared understanding of, and appropriate responses to quality assurance.

Performance management for participatory democracy: thoughts on the transformation process in South African local government

Abstract: The White Paper on Local Government in South Africa signals the intention to establish a performance management system for the sector. This paper suggests that current approaches to performance management, as used, for instance, in the UK public sector, would need substantial revision to be supportive of effective municipal development in South Africa. There is a need for low cost systems that fit the capabilities of the administrations that exist in many municipalities. A focus upon how municipalities manage their governance role would in the end be the best way of ensuring that liveable communities as well as improved services are created in the towns and rural areas of South Africa. The paper provides some ideas on the design of such a performance management or enhancement system. Its principal features would be that it is: based on mutual organisational learning and problem solving; using simple, indirect, low cost information gathering and dissemination techniques that are within the capabilities of existing leaders and officials; focused on processes in priority to outcomes.

Clinical governance: culture, leadership and power – the key to changing attitudes and behaviours in trusts

Abstract: The new NHS White Paper (DoH, 1997) provides for a new legal duty of quality for chief executives in Trusts. Clinical governance is seen as a central tenant of this legal duty which is designed to raise clinical quality to the same level of importance as corporate governance.

Oral health promotion--opportunity knocks!

Abstract: The soon to be published White Paper Our Healthier Nation will set out the Government's new public health agenda for the NHS. To improve oral health and reduce inequalities it is vitally important that the dental profession becomes an active player in the implementation of this policy. Each member of the dental team has an important role to play in oral health promotion.

Markets and motivation in part-time postgraduate education

Abstract: Recent policy in higher education in many countries has had a number of elements which are broadly economic. Current British policies emphasise the relationship of higher education to the economy, reflecting human capital theory, and competition between institutions, reflecting notions of the ‘market˚s. The 1997 UK Government White Paper on higher education introduced an explicit price mechanism—tuition fees payable by students—into the full-time undergraduate system. The article reports the results of a small-scale study of the views of enquirers interested in, and enrolled students on, similar part-time master's courses in three proximate institutions about their motives for studying and the impact of price and other factors on their choice of course. Part-time postgraduate provision is one area in which empirical evidence is available about the operation of price factors, since there is considerable variation in course fees. Since (ironically), national data do not capture details of part-time...

Women Science Graduates in Britain: the value of secondary analysis of large scale data sets

Abstract: The majority of government, professional body and industry rhetoric on the issue of women and SE 'staying on' and 'getting on' have received much less attention. Government policy seeking to increase the represent ation of girls and women in scientific education and employment has been set out in a series of reports. These include the Dainton Report 1968; the Finniston Report 1980; Realising Our Potential 1993; The Rising Tide 1994 (resulting in the setting up of the Women in SET Development Unit in the Department of Trade & Industry); Forward Look 1996. The Equal Opportunities Commission has involved itself in interventionist campaigns which seek to persuade girls to become scientifically qualified (Smail and Whyte 1983). The engineering profession has also voiced its concern about the low numbers of women; the Engineering Council has funded a Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) unit since the mid 1980s. There are some exceptions to this emphasis on 'getting in'. The Rising Tide addressed itself to issues of retention and vertical sex segregation. It recommended that childcare costs should be deductible from income tax and that the government should increase the provision of publicly-funded childcare. The then government responded in its white paper Competitive ness, Helping Business to Win 1994 that such issues were the province of the private sector and the profession itself. Another recently published exception is a set of good practice guides produced by the Scottish Higher Education Council which address not only the issue of womens' pro gression within their career in academic science but also their access to and their retention within higher education both as students and as employees (SHEFC 1997). The Research Councils and the Committee of

Joining‐Up Government in the UK: Towards Public Services for an Information Age

Abstract: The reform of public services has preoccupied managers for several decades. Nevertheless, it is my contention that the present reform agenda has some plausible claims to be different from much that went before. The vision that has come to the fore in the Australian federal government’s Clients First Program (Information Technology Review Group 1995), in the Clinton/Gore administration’s Access America report (Government IT Services 1997) andthe recent British White Paper, Modernising Government (Cabinet Office 1999) not only promotes the ‘client orientation’ in public administration, but also reflects a belief in the crucial contribution to be made by information and communication technologies (ICTs). This is a vision for an information age (POST 1998). It is being driven by the conviction that public management has too often been modelled on business ‘as it was in the age of US Steel, not the age of Microsoft, Apple, Wal-Mart and Federal Express’ (Gore 1993:xiii).

The Low Pay Commission in context

Abstract: The Low Pay Commission was established in July 1997, and produced its ‘First Report’ in June 1998. It formed part of a series of initiatives marking a new Labour Government in the UK, which included inter alia the White Paper ‘Fairness at Work’, setting out new state positions on union recognition and wide-ranging changes to the benefits system. This article provides an initial comment on this institution, focusing on context, process, and remit, and on relevance to broader debates on the meaning of ‘fair’ wages and economic ‘efficiency’. The first section explores the political economic context. The second compares and contrasts the Commission's deliberations and recommendations. Finally, an assessment is made of these recommendations and the implications for trade unions.

The purpose and process of science: contrasting understandings in UK research establishments

Abstract: This paper is based on an ESRC-funded study into scientists' perceptions of management. Changes in the organisation, purpose and process of science were heralded with the publication of the White Paper (Cm2250 1993). However, to date there has been little empirical work into how research scientists understand such issues. Our research, based on qualitative interviews conducted with scientist/managers in seven government-funded research establishments, found that scientists' notions of scientific purpose varied, not just according to the nature of their work, but also evolved as careers progressed and the contexts within which they worked changed (in particular as the need to generate income through commissioned work has increased). The data also reveal a diversity in scientists' understanding of the relationship between discovery and applied science. Of central importance to R&D managers is the extent to which these scientists saw their aspirations as achievable within the changing context of public sector science. From the data we generate an Ideal Type model of approaches that may be taken to reconcile the imperatives of applied and fundamental research and develop an understanding of the key role of senior management in creating an effective interface with external stakeholders and the development of culture and vision within the laboratory that will enable effective synergy.

Restructuring non‐metropolitan local government in South Africa

Abstract: South Africa's first local government elections held in November 1995 and June 1996 cemented the transition from apartheid to democratic local government. The focus at that time was on the deracialization and democratization of local governance, which was successfully achieved. Local government since then, however, has failed to fulfil its mandate as the delivery arm of government, nor has the hoped-for rapid transformation of the local sphere of government materialized. In seeking an explanation for this perceived inadequacy, attention has tended to focus on the limited financial and administrative capacity of newly elected councillors and council staff. Although the lack of capacity does present a barrier to the achievement of effective local government, the constraints municipalities encounter in their geographic composition and administrative formation provide the structural dimension of municipal constraint. The White Paper on Local Government published in March 1998 seeks to address these structural constraints and, through an ambitious legislative process, chart a path to ‘developmental’ local government. This article identifies the constraints experienced by non-metropolitan municipalities and analyses the likely impact of the government's restructuring programme for the achievement of viable and sustainable local government in South Africa. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Selection of topics and questions for the 2001 Census.

Abstract: The Government's proposals for questions to be asked in the 2001 Census were published in a White Paper in March this year. The wide range of topics proposed for inclusion represent the culmination of extensive user consultation and testing. Questions have been shown to meet specified criteria in relation to user need, availability of alternative sources, quality, public acceptability and burden on respondents. Significant changes from the 1991 Census include: new questions on general health, provision of unpaid care, time since last paid employment and size of employer's organisation; and major revisions to questions on relationship within the household, ethnic group, and qualifications. A new question on religion is also proposed for England and Wales, however this is subject to a change in Census Legislation. A strong case has been made for the inclusion of a question on income, but the Government has yet to make firm proposals in this respect.

GPs and Contracts: Bringing General Practice into Primary Care

Abstract: This paper argues that the terms on which GPs entered the NHS, as self-employed contractors, have proved remarkably resistant to the managerial pressures which have come to dominate other sections of the National Health Service. However, this traditional mode of financing and organizing the delivery of a key element of the National Health Service has become increasingly incompatible with wider health policy objectives—the development of an integrated network of good-quality, equitable and well-coordinated primary and community health services which are responsive to local needs. Furthermore, primary health services have themselves come to play a crucially important role in securing other strategic changes in the wider health policy arena, such as securing and sustaining a shift in the traditional balance between hospital and community-based health services and controlling expenditure in a needs-led service. The paper argues that, notwithstanding the change of government, the 1997 NHS (Primary Care) Act and the White Paper “The New NHS” are both integral to the achievement of wider strategic health policy objectives, such as improving the quality and coherence of services, and increasing professional accountability for the financial consequences of clinical decisions. However, the greatest significance of these and other related measures is that they shift the emphasis of health policy from commissioning and purchasing by primary care to commissioning and contracting for primary care. They thereby extend the exposure of GP-based services to managerialist scrutiny and control.

System Support for Energy Management in Mobile and Embedded Workloads: A White Paper

Abstract: One of the major challenges of the post-PC environment in which mobile and embedded devices are ubiquitous is the need to reduce the energy consumed in using these devices, thereby extending the lifetime of the batteries that power them as well as reducing the impact of the heat and noise produced by their operation. Energy efficiency of computers is desirable in its own right from both the economic and environmental points of view, especially as computing equipment continues to rapidly proliferate throughout our society. In the near future, there will be broadband wireless coverage in many areas. Sustained exponential growth in processor performance and memory density means that embedded processors and handheld devices will have performance characteristics comparable to today’s workstations. We believe that the availability of a ubiquitous network infrastructure along with powerful processing elements distributed throughout our everyday environment will enable a number of interesting applications. However, the increased dependence on these devices and their increased capabilities comes with a potential cost: increased energy consumption, unless research actively addresses the issue of energy efficiency. To motivate our research, we discuss the vulnerability of one such application to power consumption:

Clinical governance: the new NHS, new responsibilities?

Abstract: The declared aim of the White Paper 'The New NHS: Modern, Dependable' is to restructure the NHS so that it is based on 'partnership and driven by performance' (Department of Health (DoH), 1997). The key organizing principles are those of efficiency and excellence. Establishing a framework for clinical governance is seen as central to establishing 'an environment in which excellence in clinical care can flourish' (DoH, 1998). These new arrangements will apply to the the practice of all clinical professionals, including nurses. Clinical governance offers a new opportunity for the nursing profession to raise standards of practice without being hamstrung by issues of patient throughput and price, as was the case under the last government. However, it also presents a challenge to the frameworks within which nursing has traditionally operated. In addition, clinical governance brings with it the potential for more direct involvement of non-clinicians in professional practice.

The 1993 White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment

Abstract: This chapter examines a case of attempted leadership by Commission President Delors in a highly unfavourable environment. One of the worst economic recessions since the Second World War, a deeply hostile atmosphere for the Commission, and the so-called ‘Maastricht fatigue’ after the Treaty’s turbulent ratification process would have made it extremely difficult for any Commission leader to launch a new initiative in 1993. And yet, Delors made a modest success of exercising agenda-setting leadership by initiating the process leading to the adoption by the Brussels European Council in December 1993 of the White Paper on growth, competitiveness and employment (hereafter the White Paper).

Scotland's public finances from Goschen to Barnett

Abstract: As this paper is being written, the election of the Scottish ParUament is only a matter of weeks away, yet there still appears to be a poor understanding, not only in the public mind, but probably in that of many politicians that hope to be elected, of how Scotland's public finances will operate. The White paper says that 'Scotland will continue to benefit from an appropriate share of United Kingdom public expenditure' and that the present block arrangements will remain in place adjusted annually by the Bamett formula.1 This is usually taken to mean that expenditure will continue to be based on need. But how does the formula work and has it resulted in a provision of expenditure based on need? Will it do so in the future?

Can) Modern Local Government (be) In Touch with the People

Abstract: The recent White Paper, 'Modern Local Government: In Touch with the People' summarised Labour's project to modernise local government and to renew local democracy. Through the mediating concepts of accountability, responsiveness and representation, it is argued that the modernisation project will renew local authorities' political authority and legitimacy. However, a critical review of the White Paper and other Government's publications which discuss the modernisation of local government suggests that there are discrepancies between the claims to improve democratic local government and the role of councils in the provision of nationally decided andffunded welfare services.

Does the new NHS need personal medical services pilots?: They offer a testbed for primary care trusts

Abstract: At the time of its publication in late 1996 the Choice and Opportunity white paper was seen as heralding revolutionary changes in British general practice.1 The “listening exercise” by the then health minister, Stephen Dorrell, had identified once more the inflexibility of existing contractual arrangements as a major barrier to remedying poor quality primary care, particularly in inner cities. The Primary Care Act, squeezed through in the final weeks of the last government, allowed health authorities scope for the first time to commission primary care from any local provider within the NHS family, better tailored to meet local needs. Proposals were invited to pilot these new arrangements, though the possibility of experimenting with unified budgets for general medical services and hospital and community services was suspended. Altogether 567 bids of various shapes and sizes were received initially. After a protracted selection process 94 quietly went live in April last year. More white papers and much else have happened since the launch of this policy initiative. So do the personal medical services pilots …