Children's disability law: the more things change, the more they stay the same

The social security system insures both children and adults who are disabled. Over the years, the Social Security Administration and the courts have developed a number of tests to determine whether a child is eligible to receive social security benefits. In 1997, as part of its attempt to reform welfare, Congress laid out a new, arguably more restrictive standard that must be met before a child can be deemed "disabled." For all of the apparent changes, however, it is unclear how much the standards have changed in practice.     

Analytical units in federal and provincial governments: origins,functions and suggestions for effectiveness

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the organizational entities (individuals and groups) within government which provide information, analysis, and advice to senior officials and politicians. These entities are referred to as analytical units. Much of the existing Canadian literature on such units has focused on policy units and evaluation units at the federal level. This paper extends the analysis to the provincial level and to a wider range of analytical activities. A major focus of this paper is on social policy ministries at the federal and provincial levels. A historical overview of the development of analytical units, based on the existing literature, is presented. As little has been written about these units in Canada since the early 1980s, the authors provide an update to the 1990s and project some possible future trends. The reasons for the development of analytical units are presented along with a discussion of their structural location and how they function within their host organizations. A considerable overlap exists in the analytical functions carried out by these units. A mapping of this overlap is presented and discussed. There appears to be a clustering of analytical activities into a three-part continuum of: forward-looking activities such as policy formulation/analysis and planning; ongoing activities to ensure organizational efficiency and effectiveness such as internal audit and operational review; and technical and evaluative activities such as research and evaluation. Based on their analysis, the authors present five suggestions regarding how staff in analytical units may be able to increase their contribution to their organizations and five suggestions, for the consideration of senior officials, regarding how they may be able to enhance the quality of the analysis they receive from their analytical units. Sommaire: Cet article présente un aperçu des entités organisationnelles (personnes ou groupes) situées au sein du gouvernement et fournissant renseignements, analyse et conseils aux hauts fonctionnaires et aux politiciens. On donne ici à ces entités le nom d» unités d'analyse «. Une forte proportion des articles et études existant au Canada à leur sujet porte sur les unités de politiques et les unités d'évaluation à l'échelon fédéral. Le présent article étend la portée de cette littéature à l'échelon provincial ainsi quà une gamme plus vaste d'activités d'analyse. Il présente un aperçu historique du développement de ces unités, basé sur la littérature existante. Puisque trés peu a étéécrit sur ce sujet au Canada depuis le début des années 1980, les auteurs offrent une mise à jour allant jusquaux années 1990 et présentent une projection de tendances futures possibles. Ils expliquent les raisons justifiant le développement de ces unités et examinent leur place ainsi que leur mode de fonctionnement au sein des organismes hôtes. Il y a un chevauchement considérable des fonctions analytiques exécutées par ces unités. Les auteurs délimitent ce chevauchement et l'examinent de plus prés. Les activités analytiques se regroupent dans un continuum comportant trois parties distinctes: les activités prévisionnelles telles que la formulation, l'analyse et la planification des politiques, les activités courantes visant à assurer l'efficacité organisationnelle, telles que la vérification interne et la révision opérationnelle; enfin, les activités techniques et d'évaluation telles que la recherche et l'évaluation. Les auteurs présentent certaines propositions qui permettraient au personnel des unités d'analyse d'améliorer leur apport à leurs organisations. En conclusion, l'article offre certaines suggestions à l'intention des hauts fonctionnaires, pour leur permettre éventuellement d'ameéliorer la qualité des analyses qu'ils reçoivent de leur propre organisation.     

French Urban Space Management: A Visual Semiotic Approach Behind Power and Control

The paper will discuss the role of the visual in French urban space. It will reveal the close connections between visual and semiotics where the visual dimension is central rather than marginal. We will evaluate altogether the psychological, legal and social impacts of the new shapes of our own environment. Rethinking our public space shapes our identities, unveils the ‘hidden’ powerful discourse behind these new urban models.     

Remembering Bill Niskanen: pursuing economics as a public science in the service of liberty

This short essay is a memorial piece about William A. Niskanen (13 March 1933–26 October 2011). The essay starts with his time at the University of Chicago in the mid-1950s, and gives most attention to his contributions to public choice. Especial attention is paid to his Bureaucracy and Representative Government, which opened vast territory for subsequent analytical exploration. A good deal of attention is also paid to his Autocratic, Democratic, and Optimal Government because this work both conveys his interest in comparative constitutional analysis and is useful for illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of his approach to this material.     

Advance or consolidation? The French national front and the 1995 elections

This article seeks to analyse the performance of the leader of the French National Front, Jean‐Marie Le Pen, and that of his Party, at the Presidential and Municipal elections of 1995. The elections took place after a period of apparent stagnation in the Front's political fortunes. Le Pen's relative success in the Presidential election was followed by the Front's capture of three significant towns at the municipal elections. However, its victories were in large part facilitated by the failure of the mainstream parties to rally against it. The elections ushered in a period of organisational and ideological change within the Party, which has, none the less, firmly established itself in the French political system.     

A Secret Police: The Lasting Impact of the 1986 FOIA Amendments

The 1986 Freedom of Information Act amendments were passed as a last-minute rider to Reagan-era War on Drugs legislation. The three pieces – a broad restructuring of Exemption 7, the law enforcement exemption; the addition of exclusions for law enforcement and intelligence requests; and introduction of a new fee structure – have had a lasting impact on FOIA implementation and contribute to the contemporary inability to affect police transparency. Review of the 1986 FOIA amendments’ legislative history documents the White House’s determination to loosen law enforcement oversight and congressional appeals to exaggerated fears of illicit drug users. The study considers the effect on judicial interpretation of Exemption 7, exploring decisions before and after the amendments, while also analyzing FOIA use and implementation patterns through a dataset of annual reports from 1975 until present. The analysis reveals a sharp increase in Exemption 7 claims and “no records” responses, both attributable to the 1986 FOIA amendments.