Melbourne School of Government - Research Publications
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ItemThe Future of Work and Labour Regulation After COVID-19(LexisNexis Australia, 2021)The worldwide shock of the COVID-19 pandemic has recast debates about the future of work. A discussion previously dominated by automation and the rise of the gig economy rapidly expanded to encompass new, and newly important, concerns: remote work, the protection and recognition of ‘essential’ workers, wage subsidies for the unemployed and furloughed, and government’s broader responsibilities to maintain social cohesion and rebuild economic vitality. As the Australian economy commences a tentative recovery from the deep ravages of 2020, we cast our eye over recent developments in the labour market and working practices, in light of that earlier future of work discourse, to ask how much of it remains relevant and what new issues and concerns have come to light. We argue that the role of technological change has been subdued, but not extinguished, by the current crisis. We highlight two important domains — workplace surveillance and enforcement of minimum standards — where governments and labour regulators can seize on nascent technological possibilities to realise a more equitable future of work after COVID-19.
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ItemCriminal Liability for "Wage Theft": A Regulatory Panacea?(Monash University, 2021)In response to concerns over the growing problem of ‘wage theft’, the federal government, as well as various state governments, have committed to introducing criminal sanctions for underpayment contraventions. While policymakers and the public have largely assumed that criminal sanctions will address a perceived deterrence gap and promote employer compliance with basic employment standards, there has been far less scholarly appraisal of how this regulatory shift might shape enforcement decisions and affect compliance outcomes. Drawing on literature from criminology, as well as regulation and governance, this article evaluates a range of conceptual justifications put forward in support of criminalising certain forms of wage theft. It also considers key practical issues which may arise in a dual track system where both criminal and civil sanctions are available for the same or similar contraventions. This article concludes with some suggestions on how criminal offences might be framed in the federal system so as to optimise employer compliance and reduce regulatory tensions.
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ItemTransnational education provision in a time of disruption: Perspectives from Australia(SAGE Publications, 2021-12-16)As the scale and scope of transnational education (TNE) has broadened, and the range of delivery models and partnerships has continued to expand, so too have the challenges. Universities offering courses outside their own country face a growing range of legal, practical and political challenges. The significant disruption during 2020–2021 coming from the global coronavirus pandemic, and it’s effect on the provision of higher education in most countries, has further amplified many of these challenges, raising questions about what the future might hold for TNE, including in China. This article aims to establish the major enablers and challenges for TNE provision. It utilises an investigation into Australian TNE providers immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to analyse these factors. As a major provider of TNE, including in China and other Asian countries, Australia provides a useful example of how TNE partnerships are being facilitated, for better and worse. In particular, the article establishes that tailored and often market-specific collaborations offer the best chance of a successful partnership. The study also provides an important basis for considering how TNE will function as a key component of the ongoing response of the higher education sector to the pandemic.
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ItemRising to Ostrom's challenge: an invitation to walk on the bright side of public governance and public service(TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-10-02)In this programmatic essay, we argue that public governance scholarship would benefit from developing a self-conscious and cohesive strand of "positive" scholarship, akin to social science subfields like positive psychology, positive organizational studies, and positive evaluation. We call for a program of research devoted to uncovering the factors and mechanisms that enable high performing public policies and public service delivery mechanisms; procedurally and distributively fair processes of tackling societal conflicts; and robust and resilient ways of coping with threats and risks. The core question driving positive public administration scholarship should be: Why is it that particular public policies, programs, organizations, networks, or partnerships manage do much better than others to produce widely valued societal outcomes, and how might knowledge of this be used to advance institutional learning from positives?
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ItemDevelopment of the University Food Environment Assessment (Uni-Food) Tool and Process to Benchmark the Healthiness, Equity, and Environmental Sustainability of University Food Environments(MDPI, 2021-11)Globally, there is increasing interest in monitoring actions to create healthy, equitable and environmentally sustainable food environments. Currently, there is a lack of detailed tools for monitoring and benchmarking university food environments. This study aimed to develop the University Food Environment Assessment (Uni-Food) tool and process to benchmark the healthiness, equity, and environmental sustainability of food environments in tertiary education settings, and pilot test its implementation in three Australian universities in 2021. The Uni-Food tool development was informed by a review of the literature and input from an expert advisory panel. It comprises three components: (1) university systems and governance, (2) campus facilities and environments, and (3) food retail outlets. The process for implementing the tool is designed for universities to self-assess the extent to which they have implemented recommended practice in 68 indicators, across 16 domains, weighted based on their relative importance. The pilot implementation of the tool identified moderate diversity in food environments across universities and highlighted several opportunities for improvements at each institution. The assessment process was found to be reliable, with assessors rating the tool as easy to use, requiring minimal resources. Broad application of the tool has the potential to increase accountability and guide best practice in tertiary education and other complex institutional settings.
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ItemBack to the future: Reflections and predictions(WILEY, 2021-12)
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ItemEthics and Law in Research on Algorithmic and Data-Driven Technology in Mental Health Care: Scoping Review(JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2021-06-10)BACKGROUND: Uncertainty surrounds the ethical and legal implications of algorithmic and data-driven technologies in the mental health context, including technologies characterized as artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and other forms of automation. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to survey empirical scholarly literature on the application of algorithmic and data-driven technologies in mental health initiatives to identify the legal and ethical issues that have been raised. METHODS: We searched for peer-reviewed empirical studies on the application of algorithmic technologies in mental health care in the Scopus, Embase, and Association for Computing Machinery databases. A total of 1078 relevant peer-reviewed applied studies were identified, which were narrowed to 132 empirical research papers for review based on selection criteria. Conventional content analysis was undertaken to address our aims, and this was supplemented by a keyword-in-context analysis. RESULTS: We grouped the findings into the following five categories of technology: social media (53/132, 40.1%), smartphones (37/132, 28%), sensing technology (20/132, 15.1%), chatbots (5/132, 3.8%), and miscellaneous (17/132, 12.9%). Most initiatives were directed toward detection and diagnosis. Most papers discussed privacy, mainly in terms of respecting the privacy of research participants. There was relatively little discussion of privacy in this context. A small number of studies discussed ethics directly (10/132, 7.6%) and indirectly (10/132, 7.6%). Legal issues were not substantively discussed in any studies, although some legal issues were discussed in passing (7/132, 5.3%), such as the rights of user subjects and privacy law compliance. CONCLUSIONS: Ethical and legal issues tend to not be explicitly addressed in empirical studies on algorithmic and data-driven technologies in mental health initiatives. Scholars may have considered ethical or legal matters at the ethics committee or institutional review board stage. If so, this consideration seldom appears in published materials in applied research in any detail. The form itself of peer-reviewed papers that detail applied research in this field may well preclude a substantial focus on ethics and law. Regardless, we identified several concerns, including the near-complete lack of involvement of mental health service users, the scant consideration of algorithmic accountability, and the potential for overmedicalization and techno-solutionism. Most papers were published in the computer science field at the pilot or exploratory stages. Thus, these technologies could be appropriated into practice in rarely acknowledged ways, with serious legal and ethical implications.
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ItemKnowledge co-creation in participatory policy and practice: Building community through data-driven direct democracy(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2021-01)Engaging citizens with digital technology to co-create data, information and knowledge has widely become an important strategy for informing the policy response to COVID-19 and the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation in cyberspace. This move towards digital citizen participation aligns well with the United Nations’ agenda to encourage the use of digital tools to enable data-driven, direct democracy. From data capture to information generation, and knowledge co-creation, every stage of the data lifecycle bears important considerations to inform policy and practice. Drawing on evidence of participatory policy and practice during COVID-19, we outline a framework for citizen ‘e-participation’ in knowledge co-creation across every stage of the policy cycle. We explore how coupling the generation of information with that of social capital can provide opportunities to collectively build trust in institutions, accelerate recovery and facilitate the ‘e-society’. We outline the key aspects of realising this vision of data-driven direct democracy by discussing several examples. Sustaining participatory knowledge co-creation beyond COVID-19 requires that local organisations and institutions (e.g. academia, health and welfare, government, business) incorporate adaptive learning mechanisms into their operational and governance structures, their integrated service models, as well as employing emerging social innovations.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableConfronting the big challenges of our time: making a difference during and after COVID-19(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-07-03)This article explores key challenges emanating from COVID-19 and how public management and administration research can contribute to addressing them. To do this I discuss the ‘big questions’ debate and then sketch two big thematic challenges. In articulating these, I point to interconnections across various levels of analysis and argue we need to work across a range of boundaries and get more comfortable with complexity. My key argument being that both during and in the aftermath of a catastrophic global pandemic, it is at the intersections, not in silos, that we are likely to move forward intellectually and practically.
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ItemEmerging Health Data Platforms: From Individual Control to Collective Data Governance(Cambridge University Press, 2020)Health data have enormous potential to transform healthcare, health service design, research, and individual health management. However, health data collected by institutions tend to remain siloed within those institutions limiting access by other services, individuals or researchers. Further, health data generated outside health services (e.g., from wearable devices) may not be easily accessible or useable by individuals or connected to other parts of the health system. There are ongoing tensions between data protection and the use of data for the public good (e.g., research). Concurrently, there are a number of data platforms that provide ways to disrupt these traditional health data siloes, giving greater control to individuals and communities. Through four case studies, this paper explores platforms providing new ways for health data to be used for personal data sharing, self-health management, research, and clinical care. The case-studies include data platforms: PatientsLikeMe, Open Humans, Health Record Banks, and unforgettable.me. These are explored with regard to what they mean for data access, data control, and data governance. The case studies provide insight into a shift from institutional to individual data stewardship. Looking at emerging data governance models, such as data trusts and data commons, points to collective control over health data as an emerging approach to issues of data control. These shifts pose challenges as to how “traditional” health services make use of data collected on these platforms. Further, it raises broader policy questions regarding how to decide what public good data should be put towards.