The Rise of the Resilient Local Authority?

The term resilience is increasingly being utilised within the study of public policy to depict how individuals, communities and organisations can adapt, cope, and ‘bounce back’ when faced with external shocks such as climate change, economic recession and cuts in public expenditure. In focussing on the local dimensions of the resilience debate, this article argues that the term can provide useful insights into how the challenges facing local authorities in the UK can be reformulated and reinterpreted. The article also distinguishes between resilience as ‘recovery’ and resilience as ‘transformation’, with the latter's focus on ‘bouncing forward’ from external shocks seen as offering a more radical framework within which the opportunities for local innovation and creativity can be assessed and explained. While also acknowledging some of the weaknesses of the resilience debate, the dangers of conceptual ‘stretching’, and the extent of local vulnerabilities, the article highlights a range of examples where local authorities – and crucially, local communities – have enhanced their adaptive capacity, within existing powers and responsibilities. From this viewpoint, some of the barriers to the development of resilient local government are not insurmountable, and can be overcome by ‘digging deep’ to draw upon existing resources and capabilities, promoting a strategic approach to risk, exhibiting greater ambition and imagination, and creating space for local communities to develop their own resilience.     

Values in Economic Decisions and Policymaking

The authors argue that values influence decisions taken by policymakers and that decision and policymakers can follow one or the other of the two distinct paths — altruism and egoism. However, the main purpose of this article is to investigate outcomes of government and corporation policies formulated in accordance with theories espoused in economic rationalism or neoclassical economics. These show that they generally follow the path of egoism. The occasional result is that although multinational enterprises and other corporations contribute to the relief of natural and economic problems, they may in fact be contributing simply out of corporate self-interest. The recent collapse of financial markets in the United States and throughout the globe is identified as a result of business activities designed to seek higher corporate profits and higher executive payouts, which are motivated by self-serving values linked to the ideologies of neoclassical economics or economic rationalism. The article argues for a just and fair redistribution of incomes, possibly best achieved through the taxation system and opens the way for further research on the alternative path—the path of altruism.     

Book Reviews

Linda S. Frey and Marsha L. Frey, The History of Diplomatic Immunity (Ohio State University Press: Columbus, Ohio, 1999), 727 pp. ISBN 0–8142–0740–5.

Winfried Baumgart, The Crimean War 1853–1856 (London: Edward Arnold, 1999). 244pp. £16.99 pb; £45 hb.

Bill Nasson, The South African War 1899–1902 (London: Arnold, 1999). xvi + 304 pp., maps. £45 hb ISBN 0–340–741546; £16.99 pb ISBN 0–340–614277.

Yigal Sheffy, British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign 1914–1918 (London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 1998). xviii + 380 pp. ISBN 0–7146–4677.

Carolyn J. Kitching, Britain and the Problem of International Disarmament 1919–1934 (London and New York: Routledge, 1999). viii + 223 pp. £50.

Ray Moseley, Mussolini's Shadow. The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999). 302 pp. £19.95 hb ISBN 0–300–07917–6.

Peter Neville, Appeasing Hitler: The Diplomacy of Sir Nevile Henderson, 1937–39 (Houndmills and London: Macmillan Press Ltd and New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 2000). xv + 237 pp. £45 hb ISBN 0–333–73987–6.

Penderel Moon (ed.), Wavell: The Viceroy's Journal (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1997). xvi + 528 pp.; illus. No price given, hb ISBN 0–19–577128–1.

Gerald Stourzh, Um Einheit und Freiheit. Staatsvertrag, Neutralität und das Ende der Ost‐West‐Besetzung Österreichs 1945–1955 (Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 1998), 831 pp.

Sue Onslow, Backbench Debate within the Conservative Party and Its Influence on British Foreign Policy, 1948–57 (London: Macmillan, 1997). xiii + 334 pp. ISBN 0–333–65637–7.     

The snowman outline: fact sheets by extensionists for farmers

Writing for smallholders in developing countries is an art that demands clear prose, a sound idea, and a logical outline. Although extension agents are often unaccustomed to writing, and usually need a sympathetic editor, extensionists know the target audience better than agricultural researchers or professional communicators. A one-page, 300-word fact sheet is a suitable format, allowing extensionists to write their insights for farmers. The fact sheet must be validated by farmers, who read it and review it for prose and concepts.

The “snowman” is a logical outline in three-parts: head (problem), middle (agro-ecological background), and main part (the solution). The middle section is the hardest for potential fact sheet authors to grasp, but it is also the most important. Anticipating the information that will convince the reader to try the recommendation requires a good knowledge of the audience. The farmers are not a passive audience. Smallholders can be engaged in logical, creative ways, even in writing.

La silhouette d'un bonhomme de neige : les fiches d'informations produites par des vulgarisateurs pour les fermiers

Ecrire pour de petits agriculteurs dans les pays en voie de développement est un art qui exige de la clarté dans la prose, une idée valable, et une forme logique. Malgré le fait que les éducateurs n'ont pas l'habitude d'écrire et qu'ils ont souvent besoin d'un éditeur compatissant, les vulgarisateurs connaissent mieux que les chercheurs agricoles ou les communicateurs professionnels leur public cible. Une seule page de 300 mots est un format approprié à la fiche d'informations, qui permet aux vulgarisateurs de transmettre leurs perspectives aux fermiers. La fiche doit être validée par des fermiers qui la lisent et qui passent en revue sa prose et ses idées. Le ‘bonhomme de neige’ fournit une silhouette logique en trois parties : la tête (le problème), le centre (contexte agri-écologique) et le corps (la solution). Le contexte est la partie la plus difficile à comprendre par les auteurs potentiels de fiches d'informations, mais il est aussi la plus importante. Anticiper les informations qui convaincront le lecteur d'essayer la démarche recommandée exige une bonne connaissance du public. Les fermiers ne sont pas des lecteurs passifs. On peut impliquer les petits agriculteurs d'une façon logique et créative, même à l'écriture.

El esbozo en forma de muñeco de nieve: hojas informativas escritas por extensionistas para pequeños productores

Escribir para un público de los pequeños productores de países en desarrollo es un arte que exige prosa clara, ideas firmes y un esbozo lógico. Si bien los agentes de extensión no están acostumbrados a escribir y, en general, necesitan de un buen editor, conocen al público objetivo mejor que los investigadores en agricultura o que los comunicadores profesionales. La hoja informativa de una cuartilla y de 300 palabras constituye un formato adecuado que permite a los extensionistas difundir sus hallazgos entre los campesinos. Dicha hoja informativa debe ser validada por los productores, quienes la leen y la valoran de acuerdo a su claridad y a los conceptos que contiene. El esbozo lógico consta de tres partes en forma de “muñeco de nieve”: el encabezado (presentación del problema), la parte central (exposición de los antecedentes agroecológicos) y la parte final (propuesta de solución). Para los potenciales autores de las hojas informativas, la sección de antecedentes representa la parte más difícil de escribir pero también la más importante. Se requiere de un buen nivel de familiaridad con el público para ser capaz de anticipar la información que impulsará al lector a poner en práctica las recomendaciones. Los pequeños productores no son un público pasivo. Participarán en actividades lógicas y creativas, aun cuando éstas impliquen la escritura.

A apresentação do homem das neves: informes produzidos por extensionistas para produtores rurais

Escrever para pequenos produtores de países em desenvolvimento é uma arte que exige um texto claro, uma ideia bem fundamentada e uma apresentação lógica. Embora agentes de extensão não estejam muito acostumados a escrever, e normalmente precisam de um editor compreensivo, os extensionistas conhecem o público-alvo melhor do que os pesquisadores agrícolas ou comunicadores profissionais. Um informe de uma página e 300 palavras possui uma forma adequada, permitindo aos extensionistas escrever suas ideias para os produtores rurais. O informe deve ser validado pelos produtores rurais, que o lêem e revisam o texto e os conceitos. O “homem das neves” é uma apresentação lógica em três partes: cabeça (problema), meio (contexto agro-ecológico) e parte principal (a solução). A seção do contexto é a mais difícil para compreensão dos autores em potencial dos informes, mas é também a mais importante. Antecipar as informações que convencerão o leitor a tentar seguir a recomendação exige bom conhecimento sobre o público. Os produtores rurais não são um público passivo. Os pequenos produtores podem ser engajados de forma lógica e criativa, até mesmo por escrito.     

National Association of Medical Examiners position paper on the medical examiner release of organs and tissues for transplantation

The medical examiner community plays a key role in the organ and tissue procurement process for transplantation. Since many, if not most, potential organ or tissue donors fall under medicolegal jurisdiction, the medical examiner bears responsibility to authorize or deny the procurement of organs or tissues on a case-by-case basis. This responsibility engenders a basic dichotomy for the medical examiner's decision-making process. In cases falling under his/her jurisdiction, the medical examiner must balance the medicolegal responsibility centered on the decedent with the societal responsibility to respect the wishes of the decedent and/or next of kin to help living patients. Much has been written on this complex issue in both the forensic pathology and the transplantation literature. Several studies and surveys of medical examiner practices, as well as suggested protocols for handling certain types of cases, are available for reference when concerns arise that procurement may potentially hinder medicolegal death investigation. It is the position of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) that the procurement of organs and/or tissues for transplantation can be accomplished in virtually all cases, without detriment to evidence collection, postmortem examination, determination of cause and manner of death, or the conducting of criminal or civil legal proceedings. The purpose of this position paper is to review the available data, the arguments for and against medical examiner release, and to encourage the release of organs and tissues in all but the rarest of circumstances.