Agency Fever? Analysis of an International Policy Fashion

In the last 15 years, the governments of many OECD countries have transferred a wide range of functions to new, agency-type organizations. Allowing for the fact that, for comparative purposes, it is difficult precisely to define agencies, and further acknowledging that in many countries agencies are far from being new, it nevertheless remains the case that there seems to have been a strong fashion for this particular organizational solution.This article investigates the apparent international convergence towards agencification. It seeks to identify the reasons for, and depth of, the trend. It asks to what extent practice has followed rhetoric. The emerging picture is a complex one. On the one hand, there seems to be a widespread belief, derived from a variety of theoretical traditions, that agencification can unleash performance improvements. On the other hand, systematic evidence for some of the hypothetical benefits is very patchy. Furthermore, the diversity of actual practice in different countries has been so great that there must sometimes be considerable doubt as to whether the basic requirements for successful performance management are being met.     

MAKING IT WORK

With the prevalence of divorce in our country, there is a serious need of services for divorcing families to be readily available and offered in a manner to increase the use of the services. Early intervention with the divorcing family is critical to help alleviate levels of parental conflict and decrease potential litigation. This article is an evaluation of the first year of court-mandated parenting psychoeducational workshops. The results demonstrate the positive effects of the workshops for most divorcing parents in terms of levels of ongoing conflict between parents, children's adjustment as observed by the parents, parents' adjustment, and parents' ability to settle the legal issues of the divorce and keep the children out of the middle of the conflict.     

Minority Set-Aside Programs in the States After City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co.

In a series of decisions handed down during the 1988–1989term, the U.S. Supreme Court sent clear signals that its equalprotection analysis and affirmative action jurisprudence areundergoing reexamination. The most important affirmative actiondecision during the term was City of Richmond v. J. A. CrosonCo. The Court ruled that Richmond's minority business enterpriseprogram, which set aside 30 percent of the dollar amount ofgovernment construction contracts for minority-owned firms,violated the Fourteenth Amendment. In the wake of Croson, federaland state courts have considered other cases involving set-asideprograms, while a number of other programs have been abandoned,placed under evaluation, or modified to meet the guidelineslaid down by the Court.     

Preemployment screening and training could reduce excessive force litigation cases

Police officers enter law enforcement with enthusiasm. However, at some point, their idealism dissipates to the point of apathy causing some to become aggressive with the general public. During this period, some officer’s performance declines. This raises concerns for superior officers and management with how these problems could lead to legal liabilities if out-of-control officers engage in excessive force.     

China’s vietnam policy: The road to normalization and prospects for the Sino-Vietnamese relationship

Americans have both underestimated and exaggerated China’s ability to influence developments in Asia. Many saw the normalization of relations between China and Vietnam in 1991 as a sign of China’s growing regional dominance. This article reexamines the process of normalization against the background of historical twentieth-century relations in order to present a more balanced perspective of China’s Vietnam policy. The author examines China’s role at the 1954 Geneva Conference, in 1973 at the Paris Peace Talks, during the deterioration of relations in the 1970s that culminated in the Sino-Vietnamese border war of 1979, and finally, along the road to normalization. Understanding that Sino-Vietnamese cooperation depends less on China’s leverage over Vietnam than on the convergence of interests between the two countries, the author then explores the major issues in Sino-Vietnamese relations in the 1990s.