Premature or stillborn? – The recent challenge to the Digital Economy Act

The High Court has recently delivered judgment on the judicial review of the Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA) and the draft Costs Order¹ on application by BT and Talktalk.² Mr Justice Kenneth Parker rejected the application on all but one ground (one aspect of the cost sharing arrangement). See: The Queen on the Application of British Telecommunications Plc, Talktalk Telecom Group Plc v The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2011] EWHC 1021 (Admin), Judgment of 20. April 2011.     

Public management and organizational performance: The effect of managerial quality

This paper presents the first large study of public management quality and its effect on program performance. Using 5 years of data from more than 1000 Texas school districts, the authors measure quality as the additional salary paid to school superintendents over and above the normal determinants of salary. This measure of managerial quality is positively correlated with 10 of 11 performance indicators covering organizational goals ranging from standardized tests to school attendance. These relationships hold even in the presence of controls for other determinants of program success. The measure has the potential to be used in tests of existing management theories, thus moving the literature beyond case studies to more systematic research involving many subjects. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy and Analysis and Management.     

Prisoner Dilemmas: The American Obsession with POWs and Hostages

For centuries, the issue of American hostages and POWs has had incredible emotional and political resonance. Driven by a combination of idealism, wrath, and concerns over reputation, the status of captive Americans can become a national obsession. While deeply moral in many respects, this intense focus can encourage risky rescue operations, deepen conflicts, and lead to more Americans being captured abroad. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both suffered grave political damage from hostage crises, and the recent capture of an American by Somali pirates highlights the continued danger that a hostage crisis could overshadow the presidency of Barack Obama. U.S. officials should publicly downplay the issue of hostages and POWs, and work quietly behind the scenes to free the men and women concerned.