Public management research: The triumph of art over science

If the lights that guide us ever go out, they will fade little by little, as if of their own accord. Confining ourselves to practice, we may lose sight of basic principles, and when these have been entirely forgotten, we may apply the methods derived from them badly; we might be left without the capacity to invent new methods, and only able to make a clumsy and an unintelligent use of wise procedures no longer understood.     

Research in progress: A report on policies of access to aid as a medical treatment in the U.K.

This paper is the first research report of a comprehensive study of AID as a medical treatment in the U.K. It examines the policies that determine who is able to receive AID when it is administered by doctors in medical clinics. Findings from the survey upon which this report is based indicate that AID treatment is administered under highly discriminatory policies. Women's access to treatment is restricted according to marital status, sexual preference, disability and costs. By operating under restrictive policies, doctor's discretion and medical jurisdiction extends beyond the immediate concerns of the health of patients and into the realm of social control.     

Government executives as Gamesmen: A metaphor for analyzing managerial behavior

Public management requires a diffuse set of activities that extend far beyond the simple activities once encompassed in the study of public administration. The study of public management is hampered by the lack of theory to guide research on the roles and contributions of public managers. By viewing the government executive as a player in a game—more accurately, as a player in many games occurring simultaneously and at different levels, each with its own rules of play—we can begin to gain an integral view of the reality in which they operate.     

Forensic mitochondrial DNA analysis of 691 casework hairs

A five year retrospective review of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis on 691 casework hairs was carried out. A full or partial mtDNA profile was obtained for > 92% of hairs. With increasing age of the hair, the likelihood of obtaining a full profile decreased, although "mini-primer sets" could often be used to capture a partial profile. With increasing color and diameter of the hair, the likelihood of obtaining a profile increased. Full or partial profiles were obtained on more than 80% of 114 hairs < or = 1.0 cm. Mixtures were observed in 8.7% of hairs tested; mixtures increased with the age of the hair and were presumed to be due to exterior surface contamination that could not be sufficiently cleaned prior to extraction, since the overall level of laboratory contamination was low. The frequency of sequence heteroplasmy was 11.4%, and both hot-spot and novel sites were observed. In about one-third of these observations, another sample in the case showed either the same heteroplasmic site or a nucleotide substitution at that site.