Scottish devolution: identity and impact and the case of community care for the elderly

This article examines the emergent identity and impact of devolution in Scotland. Using the case of community care for the elderly, a model is set out for capturing the different interpretive perspectives evident in relation to a particular policy area in 1999–2001. The political story of the 'free personal care' issue, in which the Scottish Executive were unexpectedly forced into adopting a markedly different policy from the rest of the UK, is examined in some detail. Setting the episode in a broader context, four discursive thematics are identified in relation to the policy case. A model is demonstrated for examining different aspects of devolution including constitutional level and sub-system aspects of post-devolution governance. Conclusions are drawn as to the meaning which should be ascribed to the discourse associated with devolution and community care for the elderly.     

Quantitative Leverage Through Qualitative Knowledge: Augmenting the Statistical Analysis of Complex Causes

Social scientific theories frequently posit that multiple causalmechanisms may produce the same outcome. Unfortunately, it isnot always possible to observe which mechanism was responsible.For example, IMF scholars conjecture that nations enter IMFagreements both out of economic need and for discretionary domesticpolitical reasons. Typically, though, all we observe is thefact of agreement, not its cause. Partial observability probitmodels (Poirier 1980, Journal of Econometrics 12:209–217; Braumoeller2003, Political Analysis 11:209–233) provide one methodfor the statistical analysis of such phenomena. Unfortunately,they are often plagued by identification and labeling difficulties.Sometimes, however, qualitative studies of particular casesenlighten us about causes when quantitative studies cannot.We propose exploiting this information to lend additional structureto the partial observability approach. Monte Carlo simulationreveals that by anchoring "discernible" causes for a handfulof cases about which we possess qualitative information, weobtain greater efficiency. More important, our method provesreliable at recovering unbiased parameter estimates when thepartial observability model fails. The paper concludes withan analysis of the determinants of IMF agreements.

A member shall be entitled to purchase the currencies of othermembers from the Fund ...[provided] the member represents thatit has a need to make the purchase because of its balance ofpayments or its reserve position or developments in its reserves. —InternationalMonetary Fund Articles of Agreement [IMF] negotiations sometimesenable government leaders to do what they privately wish todo, but are powerless to do domestically. —Robert Putnam(1988, p. 457)

     

The fiduciary duties of healthcare directors in the "zone of insolvency"

Directors of healthcare organizations normally owe fiduciary duties to their shareholders or, in the case of nonprofits, to the charitable mission of the organization. As an organization descends to bankruptcy, however, the board's duties may shift. At some point, the board may be imposed with different and often conflicting obligations to the corporate enterprise as a whole, with a primary criterion being the interests of creditors. In this article, the authors analyze the murky areas of the Zone and give guidance as to when the board's duty may shift-and as to how directors should proceed both in determining their duties and in working to fulfill them.