Public‐service values and ethics: Dead end or strong foundation?

Abstract: In the Winter 2004 issue of this journal, John Langford pronounced a negative verdict on the concern for public‐service values, which has been a feature of public‐service reform over the past decade. This article reconsiders Langford's arguments. It suggests that public‐service renewal requires ongoing attention to public‐service values but also a widening of perspectives. It is now necessary to give more attention to the organizational, professional and institutional conditions for sound individual behaviour. Renewed attention to public‐service values did not seek to supplant traditional approaches to individual decision‐making but rather to re‐frame them, grounded in the principles without which they cannot make sense of the world. The research literature on values and ethics contradicts the critique's main contentions. The critique is also based on a mistaken premise, false dichotomies, and inadequate and contradictory assumptions about the nature of individual decision‐making. Three points that are useful contributions to the ongoing dialogue on public‐service values and ethics are noted. But an individual perspective must now be augmented by a focus on organizational performance. Far from being a “dead end,” public‐service values remain the strong foundation – the only possible foundation – for the public service of the future. Sommaire: Le présent article réexamine celui de John Langford, publié dans le numéro d'hiver 2004, dans lequel il prononqait un verdict négatif sur la préoccupation au sujet des valeurs du service public qui a été un élément de la réforme de la fonction publique au cours de la dernière décennie. Une nouvelle attention portée aux valeurs du service public n'a pas cherchéà remplacer les approches traditionnelles concernant la prise de décisions, mais plutôt à les recadrer, à les faire reposer sur des principes sans lesquels le monde n'a pas de sens. La littérature de recherche sur les valeurs et l'éthique conrredit les principales allégations du critique et est également fondée sur des assomptions erronées et contradictoires au sujet de la nature de la prise de décision individuelle. Trois points qui représentent des contributions utiles au dialogue actuel sur les valeurs et l'éthique du service public sont mentionnés. Mais la perspective individuelle doit aussi avoir pour objectif la performance organisarionnelle. Loin d'être une « voie sans issue », les valeurs du service public restent le fondement solide – et en fait le seul fondement possible – du service public de l'avenir.     

Community structural predictors of spatially aggregated motor vehicle theft rates: Do they replicate?

Community-level motor vehicle theft (MVT) is not spatially random but is influenced by the structural composition of the community. Work to date did not provide a clear picture of the structural correlates of community-level MVT rates for two reasons. Cross-sectional studies had been limited to a single point in time (one wave design). In addition, studies had not adequately controlled for MVT rates in adjoining communities (spatially autocorrelated rates). The current study addressed these limitations. Drawing on structural correlates highlighted by factorial ecology and past work on motor vehicle theft, it anticipated cross-sectional connections between status, stability, age composition, and racial heterogeneity. It sought to learn if these connections persisted at two points in time spanning a decade. Census block group data from a midwestern city were merged with geocoded vehicle theft data, and a comprehensive spatial lag variable was constructed (Land & Deane, 1992). At both points in time, communities with higher MVT rates had lower socioeconomic status, and were surrounded by other communities with higher MVT rates. Community processes driving the connection between status and vehicle theft were suggested. The strong spatial dependency of MVT rates suggests attributes, events, or longer-term trends located in a section of a city may be affecting the communities located there. Issues for prevention were addressed.     

Exchange Rate Variability and Labor Market Performance in the Visegrád Countries

According to the traditional ‘optimum currency area’ approach, not much will be lost from a very hard peg to a currency union if there has been little reason for variations in the exchange rate. This paper takes a different approach and highlights the fact that high exchange rate volatility may as well signal high costs for labor markets. Based on the paper by Belke (2003), the impact of exchange rate volatility on labor markets in the four Visegrád Economies (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic) is analyzed, finding that volatility vis-à-vis the euro significantly increases unemployment. Hence, the elimination of exchange rate volatility could be considered as a substitute for a removal of employment protection legislation.     

US security strategy in Asia and the prospects for an Asian regional security regime

The US–Japan alliance serves as the cornerstone of US security strategy in East Asia. The Bush administration remains supportive of efforts by Japan to become a more “normal” nation and is expected, during its second term, to continue to encourage Tokyo to play a more active role in regional security (while refraining from open pressure or from meddling in the debate over constitutional revision). The Pentagon's ongoing Global Force Review will likely result in some modest adjustments in the US military footprint in Japan, but with no lessening of Washington's overall commitment or ability to respond to regional crises. Meanwhile, Washington will continue to support institutionalized multilateral mechanisms (including sub-regional efforts that do not include the US) as useful means to promote regional security and coordinate counter-terrorism efforts, while relying on ad hoc coalitions (or unilateral actions if necessary) to address specific threats to its own security or to the security of its allies.     

The Philadelphia predictive policing experiment

Journal of Experimental Criminology - This place-based, randomized experiment explored the impact of different patrol strategies on violent and property crime in microscale predicted crime areas....