Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Time for a Radical Overhaul?

Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic have put relationships between the UK government and its devolved counterparts under growing strain. Tensions generated by both of these developments have exposed the inadequacies of the existing, under-developed system for bringing governments together in the UK. The limitations of the current system include the ad hoc nature of intergovernmental meetings, and their consultative rather than decision-making character. Drawing upon an analysis of how intergovernmental relationships are structured in five other countries, the authors offer a number of suggestions for the reconfiguration of the UK model. They explore different ways of enabling joint decision making by its governments, and argue against the assumption that England can be represented adequately by the UK administration. Without a serious attempt to address this dysfunctional part of the UK’s territorial constitution, there is every prospect that relations between these different governments will continue to deteriorate.     

中西文化对话与新的精神秩序

中美分歧反映出更深层的结构失调,即全球将迎来一个与其他大型经济体奉行不同体制与价值观的最大经济体。中国的独特性挑战了它的自我身份认同,也挑战了世界的原有认知。但这一特性是与中国传统共同发展的,中国文化具有与西方同等的正统性。与西方热衷于建构普世秩序不同,中国文化更为灵活、包容。在后现代,东西方有可能"思想解放",展开富有成果的对话,并能够相互平衡。尽管很少有人精通两大知识传统,尤其欧美对中国和其他亚洲国家了解不够,但我们必须找到交流的方式,寻求新的精神秩序。     

Demand Pull Technology Transfer Applied to the Field of Assistive Technology

Technology transfer has generally had little impact on the assistive technology industries serving small, highly fragmented “disability markets.” Persons with disabilities often require specialized, relatively sophisticated technology. Third-party payer reimbursement rates and the low levels of disposable income among disability populations often cap product pricing. Transferring technology to these industry segments therefore poses special challenges. In October 1998, the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer initiated the “Demand-Pull Project on Wheeled Mobility.” Successful transfers resulting from this project demonstrate that a systematic technology transfer process can be successfully applied to industries serving specialized and underserved niche markets.     

Doctors in Extremity

Book Reviews in This Article:
Robert Jay Lifton, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide.
Eric Stovcr and Elena O. Nightingak, eds., The Breaking of Bodies and Minds: Torture, Psychiatric Abuse and the Health Professions.
Elliot S. Valenstein, Great and Desperate Cures: The Rise and Decline of Psychosurgery and Other Related Treatments for Mental Illness.     

Corruption in public policy and its impact on development: The case of Uganda since 1979

This paper argues that corruption is a product of self-aggrandizement; of unrealistically low remuneration which makes it impossible for public servants to live within their legitimate means; and of a closed political system which inevitably tends to exclude aggregated interests'. Corruption leads to loss of much needed revenue and human talent for development, distorts priorities for public policy, and shifts scarce resources away from the public interest. The mutual distrust that results among the different sections of society, and the growth of despondency in the general public, are incompatible with the requirements for successful public policy. The main theme running through the paper is that political instability, corruption and underdevelopment are mutually reinforcing. The paper finally outlines certain measures that need to be taken in order to clear the path for sustained growth and development.     

From processing to analysing: Intensifying the use of microcomputers in development bureaucracies

This article examines constraints in development bureaucracies in intensifying the use of microcomputers as they move beyond processing applications to analysing applications. The work is based on the experience of several ministries of the Government of Kenya. Processing applications involve throughput of data and are relatively simple. Analysing applications, in contrast, are more complex and include data assembly, sensitivity analysis, and modelling. The article argues that processing applications are more compatible with the administrative cultures, bureaucratic functions, personnel skill levels and organizational structures of development bureaucracies. Analysing applications are less compatible because they require a level of training and motivation uncommon in development bureaucracies. Analysing applications are further thwarted by constraints in the supply of relevant information and the lack of demand for analysis by decision-makers. A four-cell matrix is developed which explains these constraints. The article concludes with several recommendations for encouraging microcomputer-based analysis, but cautions that processing applications will continue to dominate for the foreseeable future.