The intellectual legacy of J.E. Hodgetts

Abstract: J.E. (Ted) Hodgetts was influenced by both the political economy approach that he learned at the University of Toronto and by the comprehensive historical method developed by Leonard White, under whom he studied at Chicago. His first great project, Pioneer Public Service, convinced him that responsible government was impossible without responsible public administration. The authors examine how his response to management theories and practices evolved following his participation in the Glassco, Lambert and Gomery commissions. Hodgetts consistently refused the complete separation of politics and administration, and he promoted the use of management techniques to strengthen parliamentary supervision of the public service. The two key components of his legacy are thus a commitment to the democratic values of representative government and the comprehensive study of the internal dynamics of public administration in interaction with the relevant environmental factors.     

A PROACTIVE RESPONSE TO FAMILY VIOLENCE: THE RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENT

Recent British work has focused attention on preventing repeat victimization as part of an overall crime prevention strategy. Because domestic violence victims are among those most likely to suffer multiple victimizations, they are logical candidates for programs targeted at reducing repeat victimization.
This article reports on a joint law enforcement-social services approach to reduce the incidence of repeat domestic violence. The research design randomly assigned households reporting domestic incidents within two public housing police service areas in New York to receive or not receive a follow-up to the initial patrol response. (The follow-up visit was conducted by a police officer and a social worker.) In addition, housing projects in the same area were randomly assigned to receive or not receive public education about domestic violence.
Neither treatment produced a reduction in violence. However, households in projects that had received public education and households that received the follow-up visits were both more likely to report new violence to the police than households that did not receive the treatments. Moreover, the effect of the follow-up visit was most pronounced among households with more serious histories of violence. The results suggest that the interventions increased citizens' confidence in the ability of the police to handle domestic situations.     

从工业社会到生态社会:政府的功能与定位

工业文明在给人类社会带来史无前例经济增长的同时,也给人类赖以生存的自然环境带来了毁灭性的破坏。西方学界和政界对此进行了深刻的反思,开始逐步走向关注生态与社会和谐发展之路。中国社会正处于工业化中期,要怎样发展才能避免重蹈西方社会的覆辙?中国工业社会将走向何方?生态社会的理论为我们提供了全新的视野。什么是生态社会?为什么说生态社会是工业社会的必然走向?在从工业社会到生态社会的转变过程中政府该充当什么样的角色?本文通过对这一系列问题的回答,得出结论:生态社会是工业社会的必然走向,然而工业社会不会自发过渡到生态社会,在这个过程中,政府起到了助推器的作用。     

Underwriters' counsel as gatekeeper or turnstile: an empirical analysis of law firm prestige and performance in IPOs

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. Key points

• The article investigates the relationship betweenpricing in an initial public offering (IPO) and the prestigeof the participating underwriters’ law firm.
• The hypothesisof the article is that law firm quality affects how law firmsperform their obligations in IPOs—more prestigious lawfirms acting more independently. Consistent with this hypothesis,the authors find a negative relationship between pre-IPO priceadjustment and the participation of prestigious underwriters’counsel, and a negative relationship between the participationof prestigious underwriters’ counsel and initial return,which is consistent with market trading reflecting the decreasedrisk associated with offerings involving prestigious underwriters’counsel.
• Finally, it is found that certain observable characteristicsindicating diminished likelihood of undisclosed negative information(venture backing and quality of the issuer's counsel) are associatedwith an increased likelihood that prestigious underwriters’counsel is used.