ADULT LEARNING,SOCIAL SCIENCES,AND TECHNOLOGY: A COMBINATION FOR THE FUTURE

ABSTRACT

As people age and mature, their interest in the social and behavioral sciences increases. Occupations where personal experience becomes increasing valuable intellectual property are viewed as professions and desirable paths to pursue versus occupations where valued knowledge has a half-life and decays over time. Employers competing for competitive advantage and talent understand and value having the human energy of their organizations capable of contemporary work skills. Improvements in and the availability of information processing technology and tools allows collaboration and distributed learning. The right equation for teaching the social sciences in the future lies in the active mixture of an environment that is friendly to adult learners, satisfies the needs of the stakeholders, and leverages investments made in technology.     

THE EUROPEAN UNION ‘MODEL’ AND ADMINISTRATIVE CO‐OPERATION: THE CASE OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

This article examines the relevance of the European Union (EU) model of governance in explaining the innovative administrative arrangements established by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the North‐South Ministerial Council (NSMC), and in particular its joint secretariat. The first section of the article sets out five models of the EU that may be applied to the NSMC. The second section provides an overview of the cross‐border relationship until 1998 and the third section examines the administrative relationship since 1998. In conclusion, the similarities between the NSMC secretariat and the open coordination model of the EU are highlighted.     

THE CONCEPT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ELASTICITY

ABSTRACT

The concept of administrative elasticity draws a relation between the development of administrative costs for a particular program and the development of this program's monetary volume. For the administration of agricultural export subsidies in Germany, administrative elasticities of the two offices involved were estimated separately and as a total. It showed that elasticities over a five-year period provided more reliable information than a look on short-term developments. Overall, export subsidies showed an inverse administrative elasticity, i.e., administrative costs soared while the program's monetary volume shrank. Explanations for this phenomenon were given and chances and limits of the concept of administrative elasticities were discussed.     

FRAGMENTED BUT FORCEFUL: DUTCH ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES AND THEIR INSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION

This article is an attempt by three (relatively) young scholars to make sense of the broad field of public administration (PA), in The Netherlands, with particular emphasis on Dutch administrative sciences. The one essential fact about the Dutch administrative sciences is that they lack a real essence, both in institutional and in paradigmatic terms. They are fragmented – yet forceful. Nevertheless, we will argue, they must recast their position in relation to practitioners and other academics if they are to maintain their strength. We start by highlighting the development of The Netherlands itself, moving on to Dutch public administration and Dutch administrative sciences. We explore the historical Dutch emphasis on ‘pragmatic morality’. After this rough historical overview, we move on to contemporary features of Dutch administrative sciences, features which explain why these sciences have become fragmented, yet forceful – as well as why this force is threatened. We conclude with a perspective on the future of the field and will argue in favour of a renewed emphasis on ‘pragmatic morality’ within scholarly circles.     

THE UNITARY STATE AS A SYSTEM OF CO-GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF THE NETHERLANDS

The original institutional design of Dutch administration and intergovernmental relations is commonly referred to as the 'decentralized unitary state'. However, the views of traditional administrative theorists have been misrepresented. Hierarchy, uniformity and the separation and delimitation of layers of government are not, as often alleged, the theoretical underpinnings of the Dutch unitary state. Rather, classical theory emphasized interdependence, diversity and the dynamic interaction of relatively independent layers of government. This image suggests that Dutch administration does not need a greater separation of layers of government but better means for regulating conflict. It also suggests that the unitary state comes in several guises and cannot be equated with a monocentric system of government.     

THE HISTORY OF GOVERNANCE IN THE NETHERLANDS: CONTINUITY AND EXCEPTIONS

THE HISTORY OF GOVERNANCE IN THE NETHERLANDS: CONTINUITY AND EXCEPTIONS
W.J.M. Kickert
Reed Elsevier, 2004, 121 pp., €17.85 (pb) ISBN: 9059014359     

THE FUTURE OF PORTUGUESE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND A NEW AGENDA FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SCIENCES IN THE 21st CENTURY

This paper addresses the changing role of the Portuguese state, the present priority assigned to the process of reform and the new challenges to be overcome by public administration. Such processes are demanding a new agenda for education and research in public administration sciences, shifting from the public law paradigm to an interdisciplinary problem‐solving approach and giving special attention to 10 key areas of study, which we describe in the final section of the paper. It should be noted here that the opinions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the position of their institutions.     

CENTRALIZATION, DECENTRALIZATION AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: THE DYNAMICS OF TRIADIC RELATIONSHIPS

The accession of the UK into the European Community in 1973 and the growth in power and competence of European institutions in subsequent years prompts a rethink of relationships between central and local governance. Rather than a dyadic process between two sets of bodies, the new triadic system is based on varying interactions between the three groups of actors at each level. The article develops six possible scenarios of new relationships which can be simplified into centralization, no change or decentralization. To appraise the nature of the changes, the article examines the operation of the European Regional Development Fund, the additionality controversy, lobbying over the 1994 reform of the structural funds and aspects of environmental regulation. Rather than one scenario dominating, the findings show several types of new relationships emerging.     

NEW MODES OF GOVERNANCE IN ITALY AND THE NETHERLANDS: THE CASE OF ACTIVATION POLICIES

This article discusses the growing importance of operational reforms in the context of welfare state transformation processes, and the role that principles of new governance play in shaping these reforms. It focuses specifically on one social policy area considered crucial in reforming welfare states: the provision of activation services that aim at increasing the employability and labour‐market participation of people dependent on benefits or social assistance. The article argues that besides the reforms of the programmatic aspects of social policies and social services (formal policy reforms), reforms of the way in which policies and services are organized, administered and delivered (operational policy reforms) have received increasing attention as a ’second strand’ of welfare state reforms. It illustrates this by analysing and comparing reforms of the provision of activation services in two European countries: Italy and The Netherlands. The article not only reveals the growing emphasis in both countries on operational policy reforms which are to an important degree inspired by principles of new governance, but also shows significant similarities and differences in their concrete manifestations, which could be interpreted as pointing out processes of ‘path‐dependent convergence’.     

ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS AND THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS: THE CASE OF CITIZEN SERVICE CENTRES

This article examines how administrative professionals affect the diffusion of one‐stop shops in the form of integrated citizen service centres (CSC) in a Danish local government setting. CSCs are an example of a new organizational form: functionally integrated small units (FISUs). The diffusion of the CSCs among municipalities is used to analyse how administrative professionals act as drivers in the process of organizational level innovation. Furthermore, it is examined how institutional, political and economic characteristics of municipalities influence the likelihood of adoption. The findings highlight that a high concentration of administrative professionals indeed make the adoption of CSCs more likely. Additionally, the findings confirm three commonly stated hypotheses from the diffusion of innovations literature, namely that need based demands, wealth and the regional supply of CSC increase the likelihood of its adoption.     

TASK COMPLEXITY,ORGANIZATION SIZE,AND ADMINISTRATIVE INTENSITY: THE CASE OF UK UNIVERSITIES

The task complexity and size of public service organizations are arguably key determinants of the proportion of resources devoted to administration. Moreover, the combined effect of these two variables is also likely to have important implications for the scale of the administrative function. To explore the separate and combined effects of task complexity and size on administrative intensity in public service organizations, we examine the determinants of the relative proportion of resources allocated to central administration rather than academic departments in UK universities between 2003 and 2008. The results suggest that there is a non‐linear U‐shaped impact of both task complexity and size on administrative intensity, and that in combination these characteristics lead to a bigger central administrative component in universities. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

THE FUTURE OF POLICE AUTHORITIES: MEMBERS VIEWS

Part of the argument about police accountability concerns the role of police authorities, their membership and powers. The Conservative, Alliance and Labour Parties have developed policies which are broadly retentionist – leave things as they are – reformist – change the membership – and radical – empower police authorities to determine policy. The evidence suggests that police authority members' views, though broadly consistent with their party policies nationally, differ in some important respects. Conservatives are increasingly unhappy about the statutory co-option of magistrates. Alliance members appear not to favour an increase in the proportion of nonelected members. And many Labour councillors entertain doubts about the control model.     

'SUPRANATIONALISM' IN QUESTION: BELIEFS,VALUES, AND THE SOCIALIZING POWER OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION REVISITED

Do international organizations affect the views of the people who work for them? Although increasingly sophisticated methods have been used to address this question, disagreement persists about whether the beliefs of staff are formed before they join, after they enter the institution, or are shaped by instrumental calculation. Drawing on an original dataset based on the first fully representative survey of the European Commission's workforce, this article breaks new ground by putting different definitions of ‘supranationalism’ to the test and by capturing multiple ways in which individuals may be affected by the experience of working for the organization. For the first time, it demonstrates that commitment to ‘supranationalism’ varies between Commission staff groupings, that the influences on belief vary with the measure of ‘supranationalism’ used, and that both post‐recruitment experience and pre‐recruitment roles play a part in shaping beliefs.     

THE POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF JUDICIAL REVIEW

Academic analysis of judicial review is confined largely to juridical commentaries in legal journals. This article, written from an administrator's viewpoint, examines its consequences for the power of government, for administrative behaviour, for constitutional dynamics, and for the scientific study of policy-making. It distinguishes a four-fold effect on administrators, including a substantial element of inhibition, and highlights the uncertainty created by the incremental and inconsistent development of the principles of judicial review. In constitutional terms, while the courts eschew national security and economic policy, they have in other fields explicitly created a process of accountability parallel to that of Parliament, and have resisted statutory attempts to limit their jurisdiction. Analysed in terms of political science, judicial review imposes unrealistic standards of administrative conduct, entrenches the role of pressure groups, and places on public bodies legalistic requirements that they may not be equipped to fulfil. The combination of these pressures, exacerbated by further expansion of the scope of the judicial review, are likely to increase friction between judiciary and government, possibly precipitating a crisis.     

COMPETING TRADITIONS OF GOVERNANCE AND DILEMMAS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY: THE CASE OF DENMARK

This article offers a study of the changing role of the state in Denmark under the condition of the overall transformation from government to governance with particular emphasis on the corresponding transition from process accountability to performance accountability. It is argued that although new modes of governance have been introduced, and new interpretations of accountability have been proliferated, neither conventional modes of governance nor older interpretations of accountability disappear. Thus, what we see is a co-existence of competing traditions of governance and different and sometimes contradictory interpretations of administrative accountability, which create potential dilemmas and contradictions for the individual civil servant. Employing an interpretative approach to governance and public administration, the article analyses the constitution of competing traditions of governance and interpretations of accountability, and the way in which these competing traditions and interpretations lead to accountability dilemmas for the individual civil servant.     

TOWARDS A EUROPEAN NERVOUS SYSTEM: THE ROLE OF THE ECONOMIC UNION

This article introduces the European Nervous System, a system of interoperable, networked, trans-European telematics applications linking public administrations in the Community member states. The reasons for its development are described, and progress to date outlined. The article also touches on its funding and management structures, and seeks to draw out some of the issues involved in the development of the ENS and the lessons to be learnt.     

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BRITISH CENTRAL STATE, PART I: FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS

In the bureau-shaping model of bureaucracy rationally self-interested officials are primarily concerned to maximize their agencies' core budgets, equivalent to their running costs. They are much less interested in those parts of their overall budget which are allocated as transfer payments to the private sector or passed on to other public sector bodies. The varying importance of core budgets and other spending yields a typology of public sector organizations into delivery, transfer, contracts, regulatory and control agencies. In addition, the bureau-shaping model is developed in this article to provide an exhaustive classification of government agencies, and to refine the analysis of spending over and above core budgets.
The methodological issues involved in applying this typology empirically to the central state apparatus in Britain are explored. Previous attempts at 'bureaumetrics' have failed to mesh with 'ordinary knowledge' views of Whitehall. By contrast, the bureau-shaping model provides a framework which is theoretically sophisticated, easily operationalizable, and intuitively understandable. The scale of prospective hiving off from the UK civil service organization over the next decade indicates the value of adopting a framework which can respond methodologically to such changes, and offers a powerful theoretical account of their dynamic. Part II of the paper [next issue] presents the empirical data demonstrating that the bureau-shaping model is highly effective in systematizing and extending our knowledge of how Whitehall and its attached agencies are structured.