Reviews

Rudolf L. Tökés (ed.), Opposition in Eastern Europe. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan in association with St. Anthony's College, Oxford, 1979. xxiv + 306 pp. £12.00.

Hannes Adomeit and Robert Boardman (eds.), Foreign Policy Making in Communist Countries. Farnborough: Saxon House, 1979. 164 pp. $19.00.

C. G. Jacobsen, Soviet Strategic Initiatives: Challenge and Response, New York: Praeger, 1979. xiv+168 pp. £13.00.

Donald D. Barry & Carol Barner‐Barry, Contemporary Soviet Politics: An Introduction. Prentice‐Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1978. ix + 406 pp.

T. H. Rigby, Lenin's Government: Sovnarkom 1917–1922. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. xvi + 320 pp. £16.75.

Stephen White. Britain and the Bolshevik Revolution: A Study in the Politics of Diplomacy, 1920–1924. Macmillan, 1979. xiii + 317 pp. £12.00.

Roy Medvedev, The October Revolution. Translated by George Saunders; foreword by Harrison E. Salisbury. London: Constable, 1979. xv + 239 pp. £6.50.

Constantin A. Krylov. The Soviet Economy. How It Really Works. Lexington Books, 1979, xiv + 255 pp.

Jon Bloomfield, The Passive Revolution: Politics and the Czechoslovak Working Class, 1945–48. London: Allison & Busby, 1979. 290 pp. £10.00 (pb. £3.95).

Jan B. de Weydenthal, The Communists of Poland. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1978. 217 pp. $7.95.

Leslie Dienes and Theodore Shabad, The Soviet Energy System. Washington: V. H. Winston & Sons, 1979. Distributed by Halsted Press, vii + 298 pp. £12.00.

R. S. Mathieson, Japan's Role in Soviet Economic Growth. Transfer of Technology since 1965. New York: Praeger, 1979. xxi + 278 pp.     

Developing a Public Interest Mandate for the Governance and Use of Administrative Data in the United Kingdom

This article addresses the legal and ethical uncertainties surrounding the use of administrative data for research. Drawing upon best practices developed by the authors in previous data initiatives and engagement with research communities, the article suggests a problematic organizational culture as the most significant barrier to proportionate and good governance of administrative data. Accordingly, it offers a novel means for data custodians to identify key considerations by introducing a decision‐making template that supports public authorities' assessment of preparedness for data reuse through identification of challenges faced, related to sector‐specific practices. As a catalyst for change, the authors advocate a public interest mandate – commitment to safely and ethically use administrative data when it is in the public interest to do so. This is delivered through implementation of the decision‐making template, overt commitment to principles of public interest and proportionality, and engagement with stakeholders to address remaining areas of uncertainty.     

Can epidemiological studies assist in the evaluation of community treatment orders? - The experience of Western Australia and Nova Scotia

Epidemiological studies using administrative databases have several advantages over other methodologies in studying the effectiveness of compulsory community treatment such as community treatment orders (CTOs). We compared patients placed on CTOs in Western Australia with controls drawn from both within the jurisdiction and from another without this measure (Nova Scotia). Although in different countries, the mental health services in both jurisdictions share common characteristics. Notably, we were able to control for forensic history in our comparison within Western Australia. We analysed predictors of admission and number of bed-days using multiple, logistic or Cox regression as appropriate. Of the 274 subjects placed on a CTO, we were able to find controls for up to 96% (n=265). CTO placement was not associated with reduced admissions or mean bed-days, although there was a threshold effect with a reduced risk of inpatient stays exceeding 100 days. Outpatient contacts were significantly greater for the CTO group. However, we do not know whether the intensity of treatment, or its compulsory nature, effected outcome.