RECENT TRENDS IN FEDERAL WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: ARE THE ‘IRON TRIANGLES’ IN RETREAT?

This paper tests the popular thesis that as a result of various changes over the past decade, the subsystemliron triangle model is no longer the central dynamic in federal water policymaking. A cross section of 30 authorities were interviewed on two aspects of this key dispute: (a) the extent to which iron triangle tenets were either central (traditional viewpoint) or secondary (revisionist viewpoint) to the Carter administrationls 1977 water projects "hit list" 81 defeat, 11 and (b) perceptions of the viability of the leading water alliances in the years since the hit list events. Major findings: (1) Although the two leading water subsystems are portrayed as having been weakened by recent challenges, they are viewed by subsystem insidersll and "outsiders" alike as the most powerful of six alternative explanations for the Carter "defeat." (2) The alliances are largely pursuing a strategy aimed at adapting (Ripley and Franklinls "adapting subsystems") to the threatening political climate based on extensive funding for operations and maintenance. (3) The argument is advanced that the traditional-revisionist dispute is bridged by cyclical policy dynamics, labeled the policy pacing dimension.     

Valuing environmental losses: What promise does the right measure hold?

This paper is concerned with the implications of a disparity between payment- and compensation-based measures of economic loss, examined in the context of contingent valuation survey methods. We first argue that a measure based on individuals' compensation demanded (CD), rather than their willingness to pay (WTP), is appropriate when losses are proposed and that disparities between WTP and CD measures often are real rather than artifactual. We then point out some of the problems involved in estimating CD measures, relate these to several hypotheses about people's behavior, and conclude that they present a formidable challenge to the accurate estimation of welfare losses. Finally, several guidelines are proposed regarding the use and further development of compensation-based measures of economic value.     

Suicide by fire in a car trunk: a case with potential pitfalls

We present an unusual case in which an adult female committed suicide by fire while enclosed in the trunk of her vehicle. A finding of suicide was reached only because several key investigative facts were uncovered. Without these discoveries the case may still remain open as a suspicious death. Fire is rarely used as a mechanism of suicide in Western culture, and, as such, similar cases should be reported to advance our recognition of this phenomenon.     

Beyond Participation,Hierarchies, Management and Markets: ‘New’ Governance and Place Policies

This paper argues that a ‘new local governance’ discourse offers some promise as a policy framework that can re‐conceptualise the state‐community (and market) relationship and deliver improved community outcomes, particularly in the context of place based or spatial policies and programs.     

Book Reviews

Michael Graham Fry (ed.), Power, Personalities and Politics: Essays in Honour of Donald Cameron Watt (London: Frank Cass 1992) £35. ISBN 0 7146 3428 X.

John L. Offner, An Unwanted War: The Diplomacy of the United States and Spain over Cuba, 1895-1898 (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1992), $43.95 (hb), $16.45 (pb).

Michael Leifer and John Phipps, Vietnam and Doi Moi: Domestic and International Dimensions of Reform, RIIA Discussion Paper No. 35 (London: The Royal Institute of International Affairs: 1991) 40 + ii pp. £5. ISSN 0951-4171.

Michael C. Williams, Vietnam at the Crossroads (London: Pinter Publishers for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1992) 104 + viii pp. £22.50 (hb); £8.95 (pb). ISBN 1-85567-051-8 (hb); 1-85567-052-6 (pb).

Neville Brown, The Strategic Revolution: Thoughts for the Twenty-First Century (Brassey's: London, 1992), 248 pp.     

T.V. crooks: Implications of latent role models for theories of delinquency

Reviewing the literature on the effect of television viewing on behavior, the authors suggest that if indeed the content of television programs can encourage antisocial behavior in some groups of viewers, the image of crime and characteristics of criminal actors presented on television may play an important role in the adoption of criminal behavior by lower-class adolescents. Data are presented that indicate the variance between the view of crime presented by the television media and that found in official statistics. The implications of this discrepancy for models of delinquency are discussed.