Federal Government Funding Research Articles

The Australian Integrated Marine Observing System: Delivering Data Streams to Address National and International Research Priorities

AbstractThe Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) has been established with Australian federal government funding, bringing together universities and marine agencies from across the nation to deliver a sustained observing system for Australia. It is led by the University of Tasmania on behalf of the marine and climate science community, with 10 different organizations operating components of the system based on their institutional strengths and capabilities. The system’s primary goal is to provide information in support of marine and climate science; however, as all IMOS data are discoverable and freely available through the Internet-based Ocean Portal, the system has the potential to support decision making in many other areas of marine management. IMOS has become the cornerstone of Australia’s contribution to the Global Ocean Observing System and plays a leading role in the development of observing systems in the Southern Hemisphere. This article will outline how IMOS works, with an emphasis on the key principles of (i) national, science-driven planning and (ii) delivery of data streams as research infrastructure. It will also highlight recent achievements and challenges for the future. Although it is still in its “early days,” indications are that IMOS is revolutionizing ocean observing in Australia and is laying a platform for the delivery of sustained observations over the very long term.

The fragmented story of pain: A saga of economic discourse, confusion and lack of holistic assessment in the residential care of older people

The long-standing problem of overlooked and/or undertreated pain experienced by so many older people living in Australian residential care facilities condemns these people to a life robbed of quality. Such a degree of suffering experienced by older people calls into question the pain assessment skills of staff who work in residential care. However, the problem of undetected and unresolved pain experienced by older people is not simply a skill or knowledge issue. It is much broader than that. In this paper we portray pain as likened to a story; a narrative that only the older person, as the author, can impart and one in which only they can communicate their experience of pain. Nevertheless, as opposed to seeking the older person's pain narrative, nurses attempt to measure the immeasurable. In part, their actions relate to the confusing terminology which envelops pain assessment. However, political policy and economic discourse also influences nurses' pain assessment practises to the detriment of older people and the profession of gerontological nursing. Discussion in this paper includes the experience of pain for the older person, an overview of the specific role of pain-screening tools compared with the requirements of a person-centred pain assessment, and person-centred pathways to help nurses and others interpret and heed the older person's pain story. Analysis also incorporates the argument that current and previous Federal Government funding tools for residential care subtly impact on holistic pain assessment causing confusion for caregivers and fragmentation of the older person's pain story.

Accountability and Funding as Impediments to Social Policy Innovation: Lessons from the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities

Social policy innovation in Canada remains stunted despite recent attempts at social policy renewal via intergovernmental agreements. The fusion of accountability and policy learning is typically blamed, yet this ignores other potential factors. This article examines the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities to highlight impediments to social program expansion and reform within governments as well as between governments, and how the design of recent agreements serves to reinforce those impediments. We find that the linkage of accountability and policy learning means that learning gets caught up in long-standing federal-provincial disputes over jurisdiction, and leads to a perverse form of learning. We also find significant barriers to innovation in the nature of federal government funding, which provides neither incentives for “have provinces” to expand their programming nor sufficient funds for “have not” provinces to successfully transform their programs.

Accountability and Funding as Impediments to Social Policy Innovation: Lessons from the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities

Social policy innovation in Canada remains stunted despite recent attempts at social policy renewal via intergovernmental agreements. The fusion of accountability and policy learning is typically blamed, yet this ignores other potential factors. This article examines the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities to highlight impediments to social program expansion and reform within governments as well as between governments, and how the design of recent agreements serves to reinforce those impediments. We find that the linkage of accountability and policy learning means that learning gets caught up in long-standing federal-provincial disputes over jurisdiction, and leads to a perverse form of learning. We also find significant barriers to innovation in the nature of federal government funding, which provides neither incentives for “have provinces” to expand their programming nor sufficient funds for “have not” provinces to successfully transform their programs.

Can intermunicipal collaboration help the diffusion of E-Government in peripheral areas? Evidence from Italy

Abstract This paper analyzes the implementation of new intermunicipal structures in Italy to support the development of E-Government in the country's peripheral areas. Our exploratory case study, conducted in the Piedmont Region, shows that intermunicipal collaborations can facilitate the coordination of interdependent subjects, rationalize existing resources (e.g., through the reuse of application software solutions), and prevent the dispersion of federal government funds. Nevertheless, intermunicipal collaborations alone do not seem to have the power needed to ensure that decisions made at the central level will automatically translate into concrete and binding commitments for the municipalities involved. From a methodological standpoint, the article makes use of the analytical frameworks offered by organization science to interpret the effects of collaborative arrangements on E-Government implementation.

Leadership and change in the Tasmanian environment movement

Semi-structured interviews with key environmentalists conducted in 2002 suggest strategic decision makers, organisational spokespeople and Green politicians are key leaders of the Tasmanian environmental movement, although charismatic leadership persists following movement routinisation. Routinisation is associated with the rise of non-protest environmental movement organisations addressing mainstream issues such as soil erosion, while protest oriented organisations champion the protection of old growth forests. Disproportionate federal government funding of non-protest organisations underpins tensions between movement leaders. An environmental council representing the diverse interests of the groups and organisations comprising the movement mitigates tensions and strengthens leader integration. Entrenched leaders from the ‘baby boom’ generation hinder the rise of younger leaders. Leader mentoring schemes adopted by movement organisations offer a potential solution to leadership succession in a mature social movement.

Possibilities in the Boy Turn? Comparative Lessons from Australia and Iceland

Recognising that there is now a globalised educational discourse about “failing boys” circulating in the privileged nations of the global north, this article provides a comparative perspective on educational policy responses to the “boy turn” in Australia and Iceland. Specificities of the responses to the boy turn in the two societies offer interesting insights into this policy domain. For instance, Australian policy has been state‐centric with the media playing a significant role in backlash politics and with federal government funding interventions for boys, and Iceland was the only nation in which girls outperformed boys in all areas of mathematics in the PISA 2003 study. The article concludes by arguing the need for a renewed feminist and profeminist agenda to challenge dominant constructions of masculinity and for the establishment of a more equal gender order.

Funding of Educational Opportunities in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Training

As funding for graduate medical education continues to decline, finding sources of funding for orthopaedic resident education is a major issue for residency programs, health systems, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA). The majority of funding for orthopaedic residency programs in the United States includes federal funding from Medicare and Medicaid to the academic health center, funding from faculty and endowments, contributions from individual hospitals and institutions, and industry financial support of courses and the provision of other educational resources1-10. With the continued decrease in federal government funding for graduate medical education and the decrease in funding from industry secondary to concerns about conflicts of interest, many residency programs may need to evaluate other sources of funding to meet the educational needs of their residents. We conducted a survey of residency program directors and chairs to better understand the funding sources for their educational programs. In addition, we sought to define the role of industry funding in resident education. The AAOS staff and the AAOS Washington Health Policy Fellows designed a survey regarding funding for orthopaedic graduate medical education and the impact of industry support in funding graduate medical education activities (see Appendix). A web-based survey was developed and administered to orthopaedic residency program directors or chairs in the AAOS database. Questions were formatted and the data collection tool was developed by the Department of Research and Scientific Affairs of the AAOS to ensure proper survey format and to minimize response bias11-13. In August 2008, residency program directors or chairs were contacted to apprise them of the survey. One week after the announcement, the survey link was distributed to 149 residency program directors or chairs (one contact per residency program). Three reminder e-mails were subsequently …

Does the NEA Crowd Out Private Charitable Contributions to the Arts?

This paper investigates the mechanism by which the federal government's funding of the arts through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) displaces private charitable contributions to non-profit arts organizations. I estimate that private charitable contributions to arts organizations increased by 50 to 60 cents due to a major funding cut to the NEA during the mid-1990s. These increases, however, also coincided with, on average, a 25 cent increase in fund-raising expenditures by arts organizations for every dollar decrease in government grants. The estimate of crowding out found in this paper is relatively large, particularly for a study using a micro-data set. I argue that an appropriate interpretation of an estimate of a crowding-out parameter, in general, depends crucially on the context.

Canada's Historic Sites: Reflections on a Quarter Century, 1980–2005

Abstract The current heritage landscape in Canada was shaped between 1980 and 2008 by provincial legislation and grants, by federal government influence and funding, by private provincial and federal foundations, but most important of all by the realities of the property development and the opposition and foresight of local community action groups. The ability of government to make any real change was tempered by the belief that less government was better and that the forces of the marketplace were best placed to determine the shape of a society and its heritage.

Dominique Clement, Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movement and Social Change, 1937–82.

Dominique Clement, Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movements and Social Change, 1937-82. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2008, 296 pp. $32.95 paper (978-0-7748-1480-5), $85.00 hardcover (978-0-7748-1479-9) Canada's Rights Revolution is an ambitious book on the history of Canadian civil liberty and human rights advocacy over the 1937-1982 period. It grapples with a number of key issues facing social movements, including generational differences among activists, ideological tensions, and the struggle to launch national bodies. Most interesting is its critical engagement of the role of federal government funding in Canadian mobilization. The book's early chapters introduce readers to concepts that frame the rest of the analysis. These include understandings of negative versus positive rights, differences between civil liberty and human rights advocacy, and generational shifts between early campaigns seeking antidiscrimination for particular groups versus later ones fighting for the universal legal entrenchment of individual and socioeconomic and cultural rights. Clement argues that early generations of rights activists faced an uphill battle against the Canadian state, which branded many as radicals or communists, and repressed their organizations as a result. The government was reluctant to abandon Parliamentary supremacy in protecting the rights of Canadians, which accordingly generated harsh divisions with the movement between leftists and liberals. Despite these tensions, the book argues that through fighting discriminatory practices early advocates were successful in gaining rights legislation that protected negative rights, or those relating to civil and political liberties. Thus, early rights activists were essentially civil libertarians. Human rights activism and broader conceptions of rights, seeking to protect positive rights, did not fully emerge until the late 1960s and peaked during the 1970s. Clement notes a generational shift from earlier advocacy, seen in the emergence of new organizations and a younger generation of activists. They sought more than just civil and political equality, instead looking to protect group rights, such as language, and demanding that the state protect socioeconomic and cultural minorities. The new generation had unprecedented political opportunities to mobilize as a consequence of Canadian nation-state building, which saw increased resources distributed by the federal Secretary of State, geared to building a stronger Canadian civil society. They also had new institutional forums open to their advocacy, such as the courts. …

The Potential Impact of ‘Public Access’ Legislation on Access to Forestry Literature

There have been increasing calls for the United States (U.S.) government’s implementation of broad public access policies mandating free online access to federally funded research. This study examines the potential impact of such a policy on peer-reviewed forestry literature. The authors analyze information about federal government authorship, federal government funding, and U.S. authorship indicated in articles published in five core forestry journals in 2006. The results of the analysis provide evidence that federal public access legislation would have a significant impact on the accessibility of forestry literature published in leading journals in the field.

The Potential Impact of ‘Public Access’ Legislation on Access to Forestry Literature

There have been increasing calls for the United States (U.S.) government’s implementation of broad public access policies mandating free online access to federally funded research. This study examines the potential impact of such a policy on peer-reviewed forestry literature. The authors analyze information about federal government authorship, federal government funding, and U.S. authorship indicated in articles published in five core forestry journals in 2006. The results of the analysis provide evidence that federal public access legislation would have a significant impact on the accessibility of forestry literature published in leading journals in the field.

Effects of a Peer-Led Media Literacy Curriculum on Adolescents' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Sexual Behavior and Media Portrayals of Sex

The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and birth in the Western industrialized world, and research indicates that television and other mass media are important sources of sexual information for young people. The purpose of this study was to determine if a teen-led, media literacy curriculum focused on sexual portrayals in the media would increase adolescents' awareness of media myths concerning sex, decrease the allure of sexualized portrayals, and decrease positive expectancies for sexual activity. A posttest-only quasi-experiment with control groups was conducted at 22 school and community sites in Washington state (N = 532). The intervention, a 5-lesson media literacy curriculum targeted primarily to middle school students, encouraged sexual abstinence because of federal government funding requirements. Adolescents evaluated the program positively, with 85% rating it as better than other sex education programs. Compared to control-group participants, students were less likely to overestimate sexual activity among teens, more likely to think they could delay sexual activity, less likely to expect social benefits from sexual activity, more aware of myths about sex, and less likely to consider sexual media imagery desirable. The results showed that media literacy has promise as part of a sex education program by providing adolescents with a cognitive framework necessary to understand and resist the influence of media on their decision making concerning sex.

The 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education Programme: A USA Perspective

This article provides a comparative perspective on early childhood education (ECE) policy in the USA and New Zealand. The contrast between the two countries is significant. In the USA the federal government funds early childhood education only for the poor and disabled. Some individual states have created their own funding programmes, but again, they primarily target children from low-income families. Only a few provide universal access. By way of contrast, the New Zealand 20 Hours Free programme initiated in 2007 provides 20 hours of free ECE for three- and four-year olds regardless of family income. This article discusses the creation of the programme, starting with its genesis in 2005, and considers what are regarded as “wedge” issues, the controversy over the exclusion of private services and parent/whanau-led services, and the ongoing debate over the restriction on “top-up” fees. In the current global economic crisis, it remains to be seen whether the recently-elected National-led government will continue to fully fund the programme or revert to a subsidy strategy.

The grand impact of the Gates Foundation

In an ideal world, scientific research would be free from constraints; the professional interests of the scientific community and individual scientists would determine research topics and directions, and funding would be limitless. In the real world, however, factors such as the economy, health and social interests also have an influence and eventually limited financial resources must be prioritized. Public agencies and private benefactors support research with the expectation that the results will translate into tangible benefits such as economic growth, health products, or solutions to social problems. Given that much of academic research is predominantly funded by public money, funding agencies frequently determine the direction of research. > The foundation frequently stated that the goal was not only to solve global health challenges, but also to attract new scientists to the field In the USA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA) has an annual budget of approximately US$30 billion and influences biomedical research extensively by setting funding priorities. Given that the NIH distributes taxpayers' money, it predominantly supports research that targets health problems affecting US citizens. However, more recently, the US Federal Government's funding allocations through the NIH have been influenced by private foundations, shifting their focus and resources towards addressing the problems of global health. Most notable of these foundations has been the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF; Seattle, WA, USA; www.gatesfoundation.org), which was set up by the couple in 2000. Here, we review the impact of the Grand Challenges for Global Health (GCGH) initiative that was started by the BMGF in 2003 and that managed to influence the NIH's funding priorities. We found that the NIH supplemented the GCGH with increased funding of approximately US$1 billion for global health issues at a time when the overall NIH budget experienced little growth. Interestingly, this redirection of …

Newsmakers: Senator Tim Johnson

Newsmakers: Senator Tim Johnson

Members' of Parliament knowledge of and attitudes toward health research and funding

Establishment of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in 2000 resulted in increased funding for health research in Canada. Since 2001, the number of proposals submitted to CIHR that, following peer review, are judged to be of scientific merit to warrant funding, has grown by 77%. But many of these proposals do not receive funding because of budget constraints. Given the role of Members of Parliament in setting government funding priorities, we surveyed Members of Parliament about their knowledge of and attitudes toward health research, health research funding and CIHR. All Members of Parliament were invited to participate, or to designate a senior aide to participate, in a 15-minute survey of knowledge of and attitudes toward health research, health research funding and CIHR. Interviews were conducted between July 15, 2006, and Dec. 20, 2006. Responses were analyzed by party affiliation, region and years of service as a Member of Parliament. A total of 101 of 308 Members of Parliament or their designated senior aides participated in the survey. Almost one-third of respondents were senior aides. Most of the respondents (84%) were aware of CIHR, but 32% knew nothing about its role. Participants believed that health research is a critical component of a strong health care system and that it is underfunded. Overall, 78% felt that the percentage of total government spending directed to health research funding was too low; 85% felt the same way about the percentage of government health care spending directed to health research. Fifty-four percent believed that the federal government should provide both funding and guidelines for health research, and 66% believed that the business sector should be the primary source of health research funding. Participants (57%) most frequently defined health research as study into cures or treatments of disease, and 22% of participants were aware that CIHR is the main federal government funding organization for health research. Participants perceived health research to be a low priority for Canadian voters (mean ranking 3.8/10, with 1 being unimportant and 10 being extremely important [SD 1.85]). Our results highlight significant knowledge gaps among Members of Parliament regarding health research. Many of these knowledge gaps will need to be addressed if health research is to become a priority.

Spanish-Speaking Children's Social and Language Development in Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms

The current study examined the social and language development of 345 Spanish-speaking pre-kindergartners who attended pre-kindergarten programs that varied widely in how much Spanish was spoken in the classroom by the teacher. Previous studies on English language learners have focused on how the language of instruction impacts children's language proficiency, ignoring the context in which children are learning. The current study found better social skills and closer teacher—child relationships in classrooms where teachers spoke some Spanish. Teacher ratings of children's peer social skills and assertiveness were positively associated with increased amounts of Spanish being spoken. More Spanish language use in the classroom was also related to a decrease in children's likelihood of being victims of aggression as rated by independent observers. The findings have implications for better understanding how policy decisions regarding language of instruction impact children in the social domain. As early education programs are faced with the challenging task of developing best practices for English language learners, it is essential that programs are attentive to the social implications of language. The Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten was supported by Educational Research and Development Center Program PR/Award R307A60004, administered by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. The State-Wide Early Education Programs Study was supported by the National Institute for Early Education Research, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Foundation for Child Development. However, the contents of this article do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the funders, and endorsement by the federal government or other funding agencies should not be assumed. The National Center for Early Development and Learning is grateful for the help of the many children, parents, teachers, administrators, and field staff who participated in this study.

The role of federal government funding on the outreach programs of independent industrial R&D establishments in Canada

PurposeProperly nurtured and financially supported independent industrial R&D institutions (IRDIs) can play a pivotal role in converting knowledge into commercially exploitable applications in manufacturing industries particularly in the small and medium ones. The purpose of this paper is to present various evidence to enhance government awareness that Canadian R&D funding agenda should be streamlined as the way to strengthen the outreach capacity of Canadian IRDIs.Design/methodology/approachUsing a variety of evidence, the position and role of IRDIs in Germany, Japan, the USA and Canada are highlighted. This is done to reveal the current position and outreach of IRDIs in each country and through that to recommend helpful strategies to strengthen the Canadian IRDIs and foster their contribution to the manufacturing technology development.FindingsThe study revealed the weak position of Canadian IRDIs in comparison with their counterparts in the USA, Japan and Germany. The paper proposed strategies and approaches on how IRDIs should be financially and technically supported to expand their outreach in the Canadian manufacturing sector.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper provides secondary data‐based evidence intended to serve as a background for more focused case supported future research.Practical implicationsStakeholders at both government and industrial sectors may find the recommendations given in the paper as helpful inputs for formulating suitable policies and strategies in this area.Originality/valueThe paper presents vital background information on the important but neglected role of IRDIs in the application and commercialization of knowledge in manufacturing technology and the need to strengthen their position by granting the necessary financial assistance.