Reflections on Devolution: Twenty Years on

May 2019 marks twenty years since the first elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. This report discusses a paper published by the Institute for Government (IfG) that reflects on the experience to date of devolution, drawing on interviews with thirteen individuals who have served as ministers in the devolved governments. Reflecting the structure of the IfG paper, there are three main themes in this report: governing without a majority, institutional change, and—in the light of Brexit—relationships between the devolved governments, Westminster and the EU. The conclusion is that the report, although limited in coverage, provides a useful addition to the literature on devolution.     

Exclusion of forensically important flies due to burying behavior by the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) in southeast Texas

Very-long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase deficiency (VLCADD) (OMIM #201475) is an autosomal recessive disorder of fatty acid oxidation. Major phenotypic expressions are hypoketotic hypoglycemia, hepatomegaly, cardiomyopathy, myopathy, rhabdomyolysis, elevated creatinine kinase, and lipid infiltration of liver and muscle. At the same time, it is a rare cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or unexplained death in the neonatal period [1-4]. We report a patient with VLCADD whose parents were investigated for infanticide because her three previous siblings had suddenly died after normal deliveries.     

Policy analysis: The undisciplined discipline

Policy analysis is an amorphous, multi-disciplinary, adademic pursuit in search of a professional focus. This discussion surveys the parameters of this pursuit and outlines the basic ingredients of a professional perspective. Argument is made for a multi-faceted, yet integrative approach which appreciates both the rational and trans-rational elements of public policy and which is anchored in a mixture of technical expertise and public regardedness.     

Leadership and organizational transformation

Following a discussion of recent literature concerned with leadership, the authors note that there is a tendency for many writers to marginalize contextual issues when examining the impact of leaders on organizations. Taking a study of three community transport organizations in the UK, the authors seek to apply some of the currently popular themes in the leadership literature to the coordinators of these organizations. It is shown that one can usefully be described as a transactional leader, another as a transformational leader, while the third is characterized as a ‘frustrated transformational leader’. The application of the adjective ‘frustrated’ serves as a focus for the consideration of contextual factors that inhibited this leader, who can legitimately be described as transformational, and which thwarted his capacity to see through his vision. A number of different contextual features are noted and it is shown how these severely constrained and in the end frustrated the aspirations of this coordinator. Some implications of these findings for the literature on leadership and on organizational transformation are spelled out.     

The Non-Random Nature of Terrorism: An Exploration of Where and How Global Trends of Terrorism Have Developed Over 40 Years

We examined the geographic concentration and persistence of terrorism using the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD logs all terrorist incidents worldwide using open-source media, and, for 1970–2013, includes over 125,000 incidents from over 200 countries and territories. We examined regional and country-level data; different terrorism forms, severity levels, and timeframes (entire period, five-year periods, and annual); and multiple definitions of “elevated” terrorism. The findings reveal that terrorism is concentrated geographically and temporally. Most countries experience peace or very low levels of terrorism; only a few experience substantial outbreaks; very few experience prolonged terrorism; and even fewer, prolonged severe terrorism.     

On the relation between savings,distribution and inflation

A model of inflation, distribution and savings analysed by Thirlwall is evaluated. We replace the Kaldor saving function, instead following Pasinetti, where capitalists’ and workers’ savings are assumed proportional to their respective incomes. With this formulation, estimates of the inflation required to change the overall savings rate are generally larger than Thirlwall's. The magnitude of the difference is related, inter alia, to the share of capitalists’ profits in total income. Alternative estimates are presented, and it is shown that in general very large inflation changes are required to raise savings through redistribution. We also discuss the empirical evidence on the value of the wage adjustment parameter in the models.     

Ronald Reagan’s Strategies and Policies: Of Ideology,Pragmatism, Loyalties,and Management Style

This analysis interrogates how ideology, pragmatism, personal loyalties, and management style all contributed to policy and strategic decisions made by President Ronald Reagan and his Administration (1981–1989). This approach helps to clarify Reagan’s achievements and shortcomings in what is still a somewhat conflicting historiography of his time as president. When woven together, generally, although not always, the three produced effective strategies for achieving clear objectives.     

What makes good development management?

In a previous paper published in 1996, the author gave two views of development management. One was management in the context of development as historical change. The other was the management of deliberate efforts at progress, of development tasks. This paper adds a third: a style of management with a development orientation, that is, an orientation towards progressive change. It is argued that this third view allows for a normative definition of development management. Thus a distinctive notion of what is good development management is that it should consistently promote the values of development at all levels, even if this is not the most straightforward way of getting particular development tasks done successfully.