The diminishing role of governments in cable policy

Abstract The article examines the role of governments in the transition in cable policy in the three largest media countries of Europe (Britain, France and Germany). In theoretical terms it is argued that the involvement of governments in determining the course of development of cable systems has comprised three main stages. In the first stage, governments tried to ignore cable and prevent the establishment of cable infrastructure. In the second stage, governments regulated the technology in order to promote a national cable policy and encourage the overall development of the broadcasting media. In the third stage, although at different speeds and perceptions, governments deregulated cable by giving permission to market forces to dominate cable's development and abandoning the social goals of cable policy.     

The role of analysis in the formation of cable television regulatory policy

A summary of a panel discussion by seven participants in the Federal Communications Commission's cable television rulemaking. Analysis of the potential impact of cable on over-the-air broadcasting was a prominent part of the rulemaking; but did it make any difference in the outcome? The panelists discussed how analysis was used and what effect it had on the rules finally adopted. It was agreed that analysis was used, not as a tool in the hands of decisionmakers, but rather as a weapon in the hands of the contending parties. Nevertheless, analysis had an important effect by strengthening the FCC's perceptions of cable's possible benefits and damping fears of its offsetting harms, resulting in a compromise outcome that is more encouraging to cable growth than it otherwise would have been.     

American state governments as models for national science policy

In the 1980s state governments adopted an entrepreneurial stance and established an extensive array of programs targeted at encouraging university industry research collaboration, the commercial development of new technologies, the start-up of new firms, and the technological modernization of existing firms. Although these state programs are frequently presented as laboratories of democracy, their relevance to national science and technology policy is open to question. State R&D strategies reflect contrasting theories about the linkages among academic research, technological innovation, economic growth, and administrative practices. Evaluations of state technology programs have essentially remained fixed at dead center, as unproven undertakings. State experiences have not been couched in analytical frameworks conducive to assessments of national science and technology policies.     

The role of common law in environmental policy

This paper discusses the role of common law in environmental policy. It is shown that common law actually tends towards efficiency only under quite restrictive conditions — conditions that are fulfilled only for very few, less important environmental problems. Moreover, in these cases common law need not even be efficient because an efficient solution can be negotiated once the allocation of rights is undisputed. Furthermore, common law neglects important distributional and political questions and is biased towards the status quo. Therefore, dealing with today's environmental problems cannot be left to the common law process but necessitates legislative action.     

The cartelization of local governments

Intergovernmental competition can enhance efficiency. Centralization of government expenditures inhibits intergovernmental competition because it makes governments more homogeneous, and so cartelizes local governments. Cartelization reduces Tiebout competition, and limits benchmark competition in which one government??s performance can be compared with neighboring governments. Measuring fiscal centralization as the ratio of local to state and local government expenditures within the state, the evidence shows that more fiscal decentralization is associated with higher levels of state per capita income. Cartelization of local governments negatively impacts income.     

The changing role of social experiments in policy analysis

Since 1968 more than thirty-five social policy experiments have been conducted in the United States. During this period through 1976 these experiments were generally long-term, large-scale tests of major new programs; thereafter, experiments became markedly more modest in scope. Although hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on the earlier programs, the experiments probably had only a negligible impact on policies. This result stemmed from a variety of factors: Social testing actually tends to exert a conservative influence on policymaking; and the time required to complete experiments and interpret results is often incompatible with the needs of policy makers. In addition, test results are often not effectively communicated to Congress, the administration and the public, and even when the results are conveyed, policy makers are frequently skeptical about the soundness of the methodologies employed. If recent experimental programs are to exert more influence on policymaking, program oficials will need to address these dificulties.     

The policy analysis role of the contemporary university

From society's standpoint, modern science and technology appears Janus-faced: It has given us wealth in one sense, and poverty in another; it has harnessed nature to man's basic needs in ways and to extents undreamed-of only a few decades ago, but it has fostered a continuingly lowered quality of life. In large measure, this outcome results from an economic and social philosophy in the Western world which rationalizes existing institutional structures as spontaneously arising in response to felt needs.But we live in an era of historical discontinuity, so to speak. We must now choose between alternative futures, most elements of which are already subject to man's influences. The policy sciences assume ever larger importance as the need for planned change increases. The unique institution able to provide guidance—the university—is, however, still cursed with rigid academic departmentalization. Problem-oriented approaches are only timorously being devised. This must change. Vigorous new inter- and trans-disciplinary modes must evolve, consonant with general systems concepts, cybernetic science and computer technology. Only then will universities fulfill their urgent mission and provide society with reasoned analyses of optimum policy judgments.     

The role of the courts in certain educational policy formation

A study of recent court decisions indicates that courts tend to decide cases in education with apparently little or no citation in their opinions of the findings of research studies in the fields of education, economics, psychology, sociology, etc. This may be unique since the courts seem to be more liberal in other areas of the law where inputs from other disciplines (e.g. medicine) are cited and do find their way into the decisions of cases. The implications of this for educational policy formation and educational research need to be more thoroughly examined.This study merely describes a finding and does not purport to state a position or to offer suggestions for a future course of action.     

Public opinion for sale: The role of policy marketers in Greater Yellowstone policy conflict

This article develops a macro-level theory of framing to explain the intractable or ‘icked’ nature of environmental policy. Using conflict in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) as a case study, we review how proposed solutions – technical, scientific, and economic – and cultural issues often lead to inadequate policy solutions. We then propose that interest groups, the media, and elected officials do not act solely as linkage mechanisms, but, rather, as policy marketers who market public opinion to citizens. The macro-level trends of a marketing culture in tandem with the rise of consumerism are explored in the context of GYA politics. Finally, we describe how our proposed macro-level theory of framing points to a rich research agenda for empirically testing questions about issue framing, policy marketers, and public opinion formation in environmental policy conflict.     

Innovation attributes,policy intervention,and the diffusion of computer applications among local governments

Several shortcomings of traditional diffusion research create major impediments to our understanding of the diffusion of innovations as well as to the development of effective strategies of policy intervention to facilitate diffusion. Among the criticisms of diffusion research are the selection bias of many diffusion studies and the futility of curve fitting as an adequate test of theoretical relevance. These shortcomings can be avoided by substantive and methodological changes in diffusion research. We argue that innovation attributes, together with policies associated with the diffusion of an innovation, account for significant differences in diffusion patterns. An empirical analysis of this thesis focuses on the diffusion of computer applications software in local government.This paper is part of a research project entitled Diffusion and Adoption of Computer Applications Software in Local Governments. This project is supported by a grant to the Public Policy Research Organization and the Graduate School of Administration from the Division of Policy Research and Analysis of the National Science Foundation (PRA-76-15549). The views expressed herein are those of the researchers and should not be ascribed to the National Science Foundation. The full report of this research is forthcoming in Technological Innovation in American Local Governments: The Case of Computing (New York: Pergamon).The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of Robert Eyestone, Joseph Matthews, and Kenneth Warner.Authors are listed randomly to denote equal contribution.     

The role of actors in the policy design process: introducing design coalitions to explain policy output

Policy Sciences - Despite a renaissance of policy design thinking in public policy literature and a renewed interest in agency in the policy process literature, agency in the policy design process...