Public service responsiveness to users' demands and needs: theory, practice and primary healthcare in England

Analyses and policy statements about publicly funded services frequently distinguish 'demands' from 'needs'. The distinction has been challenged, calling into question the coherence of formulating welfare policy and evaluating public services in terms of needs. This paper explicates the conceptual distinction between demands and needs in terms of derived demand and information asymmetry. 'Needs' can be defined as 'rational demands', where 'rational' means 'consistent and evidence–based', and 'demands' as 'desires' rather than 'effective (i.e. economic) demand'. On that basis, practical demand management in needs–based public services would require:
1. Knowledge of users' demands for services;
2. Content analyses of users' demands to identify any misinformed demands;
3. Conversion of any misinformed demands into evidence–based specifications of needs;
4. Formulating coherent, evidence–based demands on behalf of users who cannot to do so themselves.
A study of English NHS Primary Care Groups explores the problems which authorities responsible for publicly funded services face in undertaking these activities. Demand management receives low priority in terms of the incentives and intellectual resources applied to it. Needs assessment has higher priority but is regarded as a branch of evidence–based professional practice, controlled by professionals rather than responsive to users. This separation tends to defeat the purposes of needs–based public services.     

Managing a New ‘Partnership’

Defence allegations about the malpractice of intermediaries in the Lubanga Case have revealed the ICC’s dependence upon intermediaries. Yet, surprisingly, the role of intermediaries has received relatively little attention in the academic literature. Since 2009, the Registry has been developing a court-wide set of guidelines to manage the Court’s relationship with intermediaries, which, if adopted, will substitute a large measure of standardisation over the disparate policies and practices currently in place across the various ICC organs and units. The Victims Rights Working Group and the Open Society Justice Initiative in conjunction with the International Refugee Rights Initiative are prominent amongst civil society actors that are playing a key role in advocating for the protection of, and support for, intermediaries through guidelines. This article examines the emerging position of intermediaries in international criminal law. It argues that adopting guidelines will inculcate a semi-institutionalised status for intermediaries, which both reflects, and contributes to, ‘professionalization’ in international criminal law. However, ‘professionalization’ is problematic to the extent to which it creates obstacles for the involvement of counter-hegemonic voices in international criminal law. Moreover, whatever gains guidelines may bestow on the Court and intermediaries, it is unclear how they can or will mesh with the emerging judicial response to intermediaries at the ICC. Ultimately, the increased regulation of intermediaries is likely to have a profound impact on relations between the different ICC organs; and it is set to be a touchstone for civil society–ICC relations more generally.     

The Imperative for Building Value Reciprocity Between Society and City Hall: Implications for Local Government Ethics Building in Serbia and Montenegro

Beyond the role of providing public goods, local public organizations contribute to the governance process by influencing social inclusion and development (Brinkerhoff, 2008 Brinkerhoff, D. W. 2008. The State and international development management: Shifting tides, changing boundaries, and future directions. Public Administration Review, 68(6): 985–1001. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Democracy building needs citizen input and accountability to ensure legitimization by society. Using survey data from public managers in local governments in Serbia and Montenegro, this study provides an analysis of the state of ethical systems in local governments. Organizational law and order were found to be the primary ethical focus while ethical outcomes often neglect social needs. Conclusions reveal that clear linkages between society and local public organizations can establish sustainable ethical behavior among local government managers.     

Employing components-of-variance to evaluate forensic breath test instruments

The evaluation of breath alcohol instruments for forensic suitability generally includes the assessment of accuracy, precision, linearity, blood/breath comparisons, etc. Although relevant and important, these methods fail to evaluate other important analytical and biological components related to measurement variability. An experimental design comparing different instruments measuring replicate breath samples from several subjects is presented here. Three volunteers provided n = 10 breath samples into each of six different instruments within an 18 minute time period. Two-way analysis of variance was employed which quantified the between-instrument effect and the subject/instrument interaction. Variance contributions were also determined for the analytical and biological components. Significant between-instrument and subject/instrument interaction were observed. The biological component of total variance ranged from 56% to 98% among all subject instrument combinations. Such a design can help quantify the influence of and optimize breath sampling parameters that will reduce total measurement variability and enhance overall forensic confidence.     

Magistrates: The Future According to Auld

This paper arises out of work I undertook before I was appointed to my present post. I wish to comment narrowly on Auld's proposals for the future role of magistrates (in which category, for present purposes, I include district judges, formerly stipendiary magistrates), and will do so in the light of my own published research, commissioned jointly by the Home Office and Lord Chancellor's Department to inform Auld's deliberations. In the process I will comment on the manner in which Auld drew on, or failed to draw on, data generated in the course of that research.