Disrupting Media and Politics

This chapter explores how, as the traditional media has become weaker due to digital disruption, falling profitability, and audience fragmentation, the political ecosystem in Australia has also eroded. Significant job losses have reduced the scale of public interest journalism, and the frantic attention-seeking of the 24-hour news cycle has contributed to a perception of chaos in politics. This is manifest in frequent changes of prime minister outside the electoral cycle, and in polarization of opinion and comment online and in traditional media designed to increase impact. Commercial media has long embraced a quasi-institutional role and been happy to use this stature, but has resisted external regulation. Self-regulation of the press and institutional oversight of broadcasting self-regulation are relatively weak; social media and online platforms are not regulated; and the implied right to freedom of political speech, the bedrock of the media’s unique political role, was only ‘found’ by the High Court in 1997. This chapter argues that effective regulation, which addresses the needs of citizens as well as consumers, and other interventions including strengthening public broadcasting and securing legislative (even constitutional) recognition of the democratic value of media freedom are required to invigorate a robust political ecosystem.

Recruiting Reporters’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues

In the Internet era, a substantial online media industry dedicated to covering the recruitment of high school athletes to college sports programs has developed in the United States. The current study explored the perceptions of football recruiting reporters with respect to their ethical responsibilities and the issues they face in their jobs. In doing so, the study builds on the work of Yanity and Edmondson, who explored the perceptions of journalists from other fields about ethical dilemmas they perceived as relevant in the budding high school football recruiting media industry. Through analysis of interviews with 15 people who have worked as reporters for major recruiting websites such as Rivals.com or 247Sports.com , we contend that several key ethical issues must be addressed by online college football and basketball recruiting outlets to protect athletes and to promote responsible journalism. These issues include (a) incessant contact of high school athletes by media members; (b) lack of institutional oversight by parent companies over school-specific sites; (c) ambiguous methodology behind player evaluation; (d) conflicts of interest inherent in recruiting media outlets hosting evaluation camps; and (e) lack of institutional protection from unethical pressures by members of college athletic departments.

Putting Time in Perspective: An Integrated Graduate Medical Education Institutional Dashboard and Report Card

ABSTRACT Background ACGME-I requires sponsoring institutions (SIs) to have systematic oversight of program performance. This was initially carried out through annual review, however, maintaining compliance became a challenge for a large SI like Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) as the number of residency programs grew from 5 to 34 in 3 years. Objective We assessed the impact of quarterly monitoring using a dashboard on graduate medical education (GME) program performance and institutional oversight. Methods In 2014, the SingHealth GME Committee (GMEC) approved the dashboard covering 13 indicators with implication on program performance, resident/faculty performance, and finance. Indicators were given color-coded scoring for compliance, borderline compliance, or concern. From annual reporting, periodicity was increased quarterly with reports distributed to program directors, head of department, and academic clinical programs. Results Since implementation, programs consistently met or exceeded compliance standards in 11 of 13 indicators (84%), with 7 indicators (63%) showing upward trends. Programs with borderline scores in particular quarters showed improvement in subsequent quarters. By 2015, percentage compliance for the 3 dimensions of residents' perspectives were 1 to 2 points higher than the national compliance average. Of 19 programs undergoing ACGME-I accreditation in 2014, only 4 had citations in the foundational requirement. Institutional citations were resolved, with 0 citations in the reaccreditation site visit in 2015. Conclusions For a large SI, increased periodicity of program performance reporting from annual to quarterly effectively addressed the gaps in a timely fashion. Institutional performance also improved through the use of quantitative data aligned with institution and national performance indicators.

Emerging Economies: Institutions and Entrepreneurship in the People’s Republic of China

This study posits an important relationship between institutions and entrepreneurships: institutions have a significant impact on entrepreneurships, yet entrepreneurships have a limited impact on institutions. The first proposition of governance theory asserts that institutions are needed for running entrepreneurship effectively, and this study argues that governance is based on the interrelationships of actors and institutions. The second proposition asserts that both governments and institutions have responsibilities; likewise, this article argues that institutions and entrepreneurships have certain responsibilities for resolving societal and economic problems, although the primary responsibility lies with institutions. The third proposition asserts that collective action exists in conjunction with power struggles between governments and institutions, leading to the argument in this article that although some collective action between institutions is caused by institutional power struggles, entrepreneurships contribute to this power struggle through the requirement of reporting to varying institutions. The fourth proposition asserts that governance relies on self-government of certain actors (but not all), which is supported by the argument in this study that while some entrepreneurships are self-governing, others need more guidance by institutions. This suggests that some entrepreneurships have greater oversight by institutions, which may lead to additional benefits for those entrepreneurships. The final proposition asserts that institutions need to be able to act independently, and this study argues that although there is a high degree of dependence between institutions and entrepreneurships, it is expected that entrepreneurships can complete certain activities without institutional oversight.

Beyond financial conflicts of interest: Institutional oversight of faculty consulting agreements at schools of medicine and public health

ImportanceApproximately one-third of U.S. life sciences faculty engage in industry consulting. Despite reports that consulting contracts often impinge on faculty and university interests, institutional approaches to regulating consulting agreements are largely unknown.ObjectiveTo investigate the nature of institutional oversight of faculty consulting contracts at U.S. schools of medicine and public health.DesignStructured telephone interviews with institutional administrators. Questions included the nature of oversight for faculty consulting agreements, if any, and views about consulting as a private versus institutional matter. Interviews were analyzed using a structured coding scheme.SettingAll accredited schools of medicine and public health in the U.S.ParticipantsAdministrators responsible for faculty affairs were identified via internet searches and telephone and email follow-up. The 118 administrators interviewed represented 73% of U.S. schools of medicine and public health, and 75% of those invited to participate.InterventionStructured, 15-30 minute telephone interviews.Main outcomes and measuresPrevalence and type of institutional oversight; responses to concerning provisions in consulting agreements; perceptions of institutional oversight.ResultsOne third of institutions (36%) required faculty to submit at least some agreements for institutional review and 36% reviewed contracts upon request, while 35% refused to review contracts. Among institutions with review, there was wide variation the issues covered. The most common topic was intellectual property rights (64%), while only 23% looked at publication rights and 19% for inappropriately broad confidentiality provisions. Six in ten administrators reported they had no power to prevent faculty from signing consulting agreements. Although most respondents identified institutional risks from consulting relationships, many maintained that consulting agreements are “private.”Conclusions and relevanceOversight of faculty consulting agreements at U.S. schools of medicine and public health is inconsistent across institutions and usually not robust. The interests at stake suggest the need for stronger oversight.

Women Politicians, Institutions, and Perceptions of Corruption

Why do people assume female politicians are less likely than men to engage in the illegal use of public positions for private gain? We argue that voters may perceive women as marginalized within political institutions, or as more risk averse and consequently more constrained by institutional oversight, which could lead to perceptions of women as less likely to engage in corruption. Using an original survey experiment, we test these mechanisms against conventional wisdom that women are seen as more honest. We find strong support for the risk aversion explanation, as well as heterogeneous effects by respondent sex for both the marginalization and honesty mechanisms. These findings suggest that the institutional contexts in which women are operating can help explain why people perceive them as less likely to engage in corruption. Identifying these mechanisms is critical to understanding the role of women in politics and for improving trust in government.