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Forgotten Consumers: The History of Medicine as a Marketplace
GabeJames | January 31, 2010The health system is yearning to be a freer market.
The history of modern health begins with medical care as a freely available ‘consumer good’ that was regulated by a royal decree. Now we have come full circle. The system is straining under its own weight and lack of flexibility.
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Car Accidents and Speeding
Open Forum | January 28, 2010I am not an expert of any form however I have been thinking on this for many years. You see my brother died many years ago in a car accident and over the years I have heard of so many tragic stories.
It seems to me that technology has improved so much especially in the last few years and yet we don’t seem to be utilising it in respect of the road toll.
The latest innovation I have heard of is about GPS. Apparently nowadays they can not only provide us with our current location but also inform us of up to the minute road conditions.
My question: why doesn’t some intelligent being utilise this technology and provide a computer system installed in a vehicle with localised speed limits which are then fed into a speed limiter so it becomes extremely difficult for anyone to speed on our roads.
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Cloud Computing Made Simple
Malcolm Crompton | January 28, 2010Cloud computing has been a popular term for a year or two now, but many of us still don’t know what it is or its implications. To a degree, it is old wine in new bottles (hotmail has been around for over a decade now) but it is also so much more.
This has led to some pretty slick selling of the concept without being entirely straight forward as to the impact on the interests of all stakeholders. In an article titled “Salesforce.com: Cloud Computing is a game-changer”, Peter Coffee is quoted as saying:
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Bogans and their Flags
sally.rose | January 28, 2010“In Australia we eat meat, drink beer and speak ****EN ENGLISH”.
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Heading for another great recession?
patrickcallioni | January 28, 2010As I predicted in earlier posts, governments are reacting to the financial crisis by indulging in populist reforms that are intended to punish the culprits – banks and financial institutions – and to stop them from doing again whatever they did that caused the US and global economies to crash in 2008-9. The form and character of what President Obama has said he wants to do – if Congress allows him to do it – is a typical example (this is what the President said, in part):
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Does Australia’s health system need to get worse before it can get better?
GabeJames | January 22, 2010In 2010, governments across the world will redouble their efforts to reform healthcare.
Indeed, in most countries, they have been trying for decades. But a recent economic jolt reminded us just how tenuous our prosperity is and has given us a new sense of urgency.
But will this renewed impetus, perhaps embodied in Obama´s efforts, allow health reform to succeed in Australia, the USA and elsewhere? Will we be able to reduce costs and improve efficiency? What will the future of our health look like?
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It’s back to work but is anybody there?!
Clive Leach | January 20, 2010It’s the New Year, we are back to work and have hopefully got through the 18th January ‘Blue Monday’. Apparently the most depressing day of the year, when a combination of holiday aftermath, worry over debt, failed New Year’s resolutions and a general lack of motivation all conspire to undermine our sense of purpose and well-being!
Perhaps then, this is a good time to think about how engaged we really are at work. Looking around we see everyone at their posts, but is everybody really there?
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Australia’s enmeshment with Asia: The unseen evolution
Warren Reed | January 18, 2010The Australian, on January 15, ran a one-page feature article by Rowan Callick called “Dysfunctional diplomacy”. A balanced piece of journalism, it looked at where this country stands in the international community and at turbulence in its relations with major nations like China, India and Japan. Early on in his article, Callick highlighted the fact that,
“The government has focused its diplomacy on three multilateral goals: gaining election to the UN Security Council, an ambition that colours Australia’s approach to other foreign policy issues; nuclear disarmament; and creating a new Asia-Pacific community. All these aims remain distant.”
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Body Image Blues
alison gordon | January 15, 2010As human beings, from both genders and most age groups, we inherently have difficulty complimenting ourselves. We readily, however, jump at the chance to put ourselves down.
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Remedy Healthcare and Health Reform
Open Forum | January 14, 2010This speech was presented by John Meckiff at the GAP/ACHR Congress on Australia’s Health on Monday 30 November 2009.
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Wave and Tidal Energy R&D Exciting
foggy | January 13, 2010Over the weekend I treated myself to a perusal of articles about alternative energy. When I came to wave/tidal energy, I was amazed at the abundance and innovativeness of the devices employed. The Research and Development department is seemingly overbalanced with the number of Universities participating in the programs.
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Applications open for ACCAN Independent Grants Scheme
olgabodrova | January 11, 2010Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is calling for applications for their new Independent Grants Scheme which will fund projects to assist ACCAN achieve its strategic goal for available, accessible and affordable communications that enhance the lives of Australian consumers.
