A retrospective on policy development in Ottawa

Abstract: Policy development in the federal government has been characterized by certain constants such as the prominent role of the Department of Finance, Canada's regionalism, and the perennial issue of national unity. Within this framework, however, it is striking how much policy development processes have varied according to who the prime minister was at a particular time. Lester Pearson's years were characterized by “departmental government”: ministers and their departments had considerable autonomy, and matters were brought to cabinet only when they were ripe for decision. The advantages of this system were to some degree offset by a lack of coherence in government operations during this period. Under Pierre Trudeau, there was a major effort to bring systematic approaches to bear on government decisions, with a concomitant increase in the role of the Privy Council Office (PCO). Collective decision-making took up considerably more of ministers' time and left them less time for the management of their departments. The system was found by many to be cumbersome, although some degree of centralization was undoubtedly a necessary response to the growing complexity of government. Brian Mulroney's years, on the other hand, were characterized by a considerable absence of system, supplemented by frequent direct interventions by the pco in operational matters across government. It is not easy to assess these different systems by examining the quality of the decisions that were made under the different prime ministers. Experience illustrates the difficulty of striking the right balance between central direction and ministerial autonomy. The effort must nevertheless be made under each government, with due regard for the lessons of the past. Sommaire: L'élaboration des politiques au gouvernement fédéral se caractérise par certaines constantes telles que le rôle dominant du ministère des Finances, le régionalisme du Canada et l'étemelle question de l'unité nationale. Or, à l'intérieur de ce cadre, il est frappant de constater combien les méthodes d'élaboration des politiques varient en fonction du premier ministre en poste. Les années Lester Pearson se distinguent par le « gouvernement ministériel «, c'est-à-dire que les ministres et leurs ministères avaient une autonomie considérable et ne présentaient les questions au Cabinet qu'au moment de la prise de décision. Les avantages d'une telle démarcheont été quelque peu neutralisés par le manque de cohésion des activitiés du gouvernement à cette époque. Sous Pierre Trudeau, on s'est efforcé de systématiser la manière de prendre les décisions gouvernementales, le Bureau du Conseil Privé (BCP) voyant son rôle s'accroître simultanément. Les prises de décision selon un mode collectif prenaient aux ministres un temps considérable, ce qui leur en laissait moins pour diriger leurs ministères. Beaucoup trouvaient la démarche difficile bien qu'une certaine centralisation s'imposait à la suite de la complexité croissante du gouvernement. Les années Brian Mulroney se caractérisent, pour leur part, par un manque considérable de méthode ponctué par de fréquentes interventions directes du BCP dans les affaires de tout le gouvernement. II n'est pas simple d'évaluer ces différentes périodes en examinant la qualité des décisions prises sous chaque premier ministre. L'expérience montre combien il est difficile de trouver le juste équilibre entre la direction centrale et l'autonomie des ministères. II faut néanmoins, sous chaque gouvernement, faire un effort en ce sens en tenant compte des leçons du passé.     

Who laughs at what?

He has written widely on popular culture. Among his books are Agit-Pop: Political Culture and Communication Theory; Reading Matter: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Material Culture; Political Culture and Public Opinion;and An Anatomy of Humor;all published by Transaction.     

PREDICTORS OF ELECTORAL TURNOUT: AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON*

Voter turnout in the United States is much lower than in almost all other democratic countries. This has been interpreted as a symptom of popular alienation from the political system, suspicion of politicians, and pessimism about the consequences of political activity. When these perspectives are measured directly, however, it is clear that Americans score very low on almost every item. Indeed, there is no relationship between political con- tentment and turnout. Turnout does not reflect international variations in acceptance of politicians or the political system. Rather, it responds to variations in the bureaucratic steps required to cast a ballot. The United States is one of a handful of countries that require a separate step–registra- tion–before the citizen can vote; and with the partial exception of France it is the only country in which the individual rather than the state bears the responsibility for registration.     

Family relationships and social competence during late adolescence

Data from a large sample of late adolescents was used to examine associations between family relationships (reported closeness to parents and siblings) and perceived social competence. Significant positive relationships were found between family bonds and the social competence measures, which included social self-esteem, instrumentality, expressiveness, shyness, and degree of satisfaction/ease in same- and opposite-sex peer relationships. There was no evidence of differential effects of sibling versus parent relationships upon adolescent social competence.This project was supported by NIMH Grant 5 R01 MH34570.Received Ph.D. from Northwestern University.     

Fathers,mothers, and adolescents: Gender-based differences in parental roles during adolescence

This study examined the involvement and satisfaction of adolescents with their fathers and mothers. Possible age and sex differences were investigated for three components of involvement: proportion of time spent with fathers and mothers, type of activities engaged in, and degree of satisfaction with those activities. Telephone interviews were used to obtain information about previous day's activities from 61 adolescents in grades 6–12. For each activity, data were obtained on duration, who else was present, and satisfaction. Results indicated that adolescents spent a greater proportion of time in leisure than in work with fathers, and equal time in work and in leisure with mothers. In general, adolescents were as satisfied with activities with their fathers as with their mothers. Adolescents enjoyed working with fathers more than mothers, however. The results demonstrate that activity satisfaction varies as a function of what activities adolescents engage in and who is present.Received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Major research interests are in parent-adolescent relations.Received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Major research interests are in early peer relations and mother-child interactions.     

Localism in environmental policy: New insights from an old case

Determining the appropriate balance between local and national interests is an enduring issue in public and environmental policy. Study of this issue, however, has been impeded by the theory of agency capture. This paper demonstrates the limitations of capture theory with respect to localism and provides a new perspective on the issue by revisiting the case of the U.S. Division of Grazing, a common example in the literature of a captured agency. Until now, the over-extension of capture theory to this case has obscured the division's extensive efforts to balance local and federal influence over range policy and prevent domination by large private interests. At the center of this struggle was a prominent legal dispute over local control involving Colorado sheepherder Joseph Livingston. As a detailed debate over political representation and the merits of localism, the Livingston case holds important lessons for modern community-based conservation efforts seeking similar policy goals.     

Fatal versus non-fatal heroin "overdose": blood morphine concentrations with fatal outcome in comparison to those of intoxicated drivers

The study was performed to distinguish fatal from non-fatal blood concentrations of morphine. For this purpose, blood levels of free morphine and total morphine (free morphine plus morphine conjugates) in 207 cases of heroin-related deaths were compared to those in 27 drivers surviving opiate intoxication. The majority of both survivors and non-survivors were found to show a concomitant use of depressants including alcohol or stimulants. Blood morphine levels in both groups varied widely, with a large area of overlap between survivors (free morphine: 0-128 ng/ml, total morphine: 10-2,110 ng/ml) and non-survivors (free morphine: 0-2,800 ng/ml, total morphine: 33-5,000 ng/ml). Five (18.5%) survivors and 87 (42.0%) non-survivors exhibit intoxication only by morphine. In these cases, too, both groups overlapped (survivors-free morphine: 28-93 ng/ml, total morphine: 230-1,451 ng/ml; non-survivors-free morphine: 0-2,800 ng/ml, total morphine: 119-4,660 ng/ml). Although the blood levels of free or total morphine do not allow a reliable prediction of survival versus non-survival, the ratio of free/total morphine may be a criterion to distinguish lethal versus survived intoxication. The mean of the ratio of free to total morphine for all lethal cases (N=207) was 0.293, for those that survived (N=27) 0.135, in cases of intoxication only by morphine 0.250 (N=87) and 0.080 (N=5), respectively. Applying a cut-off of 0.12 for free/total morphine and performing ROC analyses, fatal outcome can be predicted in 80% of the cases correctly, whereas 16% of the survivors were classified as dead. Nevertheless, in this study, all cases with a blood concentration of 200 ng/ml and more of free morphine displayed a fatal outcome.     

Organising for mutual advantage: municipal associations in Bulgaria

Networks of local government support organisations (LGSOs) are critical to successful intergovernmental relations and effective local governance in democratic societies. Bulgaria had no such network of municipal associations when it began the transition from communist rule in the early 1990s. Using US and other external technical assistance, Bulgaria over the next decade overcame the impediments to collective action and established what appears to be an effective and sustainable system to back up its cities and towns. Important factors in mobilising support included a long‐term focus on institutional development, non‐partisanship, flexibility in implementation and a pragmatic orientation that focused on learning by doing. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.