What is a ‘university’? (The English Patient)

The term ‘university’ is used in most cases with only a vague understanding of exactly what a university is and does. Is a university anything with the word in its title or does the word actually convey a meaning as to the purpose of the institution? Much of the time this does not matter—people have an understanding of what it is, what it does and what it means. However, with globalisation and the creation of alliances and networks, the creation of the European Higher Education Area, competition for the best students and scholars, competition for funding, ‘league tables’ etc. the need for clarity and transparency increases. Even with cultural diversity this should be easy, but the impact of government policy may in fact skew the understanding, removing the word in England from the universal concept of what a university is and replacing it with a narrow English law definition.     

RECENT TRENDS IN FEDERAL WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: ARE THE ‘IRON TRIANGLES’ IN RETREAT?

This paper tests the popular thesis that as a result of various changes over the past decade, the subsystemliron triangle model is no longer the central dynamic in federal water policymaking. A cross section of 30 authorities were interviewed on two aspects of this key dispute: (a) the extent to which iron triangle tenets were either central (traditional viewpoint) or secondary (revisionist viewpoint) to the Carter administrationls 1977 water projects "hit list" 81 defeat, 11 and (b) perceptions of the viability of the leading water alliances in the years since the hit list events. Major findings: (1) Although the two leading water subsystems are portrayed as having been weakened by recent challenges, they are viewed by subsystem insidersll and "outsiders" alike as the most powerful of six alternative explanations for the Carter "defeat." (2) The alliances are largely pursuing a strategy aimed at adapting (Ripley and Franklinls "adapting subsystems") to the threatening political climate based on extensive funding for operations and maintenance. (3) The argument is advanced that the traditional-revisionist dispute is bridged by cyclical policy dynamics, labeled the policy pacing dimension.     

Valuing environmental losses: What promise does the right measure hold?

This paper is concerned with the implications of a disparity between payment- and compensation-based measures of economic loss, examined in the context of contingent valuation survey methods. We first argue that a measure based on individuals' compensation demanded (CD), rather than their willingness to pay (WTP), is appropriate when losses are proposed and that disparities between WTP and CD measures often are real rather than artifactual. We then point out some of the problems involved in estimating CD measures, relate these to several hypotheses about people's behavior, and conclude that they present a formidable challenge to the accurate estimation of welfare losses. Finally, several guidelines are proposed regarding the use and further development of compensation-based measures of economic value.     

Suicide by fire in a car trunk: a case with potential pitfalls

We present an unusual case in which an adult female committed suicide by fire while enclosed in the trunk of her vehicle. A finding of suicide was reached only because several key investigative facts were uncovered. Without these discoveries the case may still remain open as a suspicious death. Fire is rarely used as a mechanism of suicide in Western culture, and, as such, similar cases should be reported to advance our recognition of this phenomenon.     

The articular surfaces of the hindfoot: sex assessment of prehistoric New Zealand Polynesian skeletal remains

Prehistoric Polynesian skeletal remains are frequently being recovered in New Zealand due to the increasing pace of urbanisation. Since such material must often be reinterred quickly, it is important that the sex of individuals be determined from the remains in a relatively short time. For this purpose, discriminant function analysis was utilised for sex determination of prehistoric adult New Zealand Polynesian tali (24 male and 27 females) and calcanei (26 males and 22 females). Two measurements of the trochlear articular surface of the talus and two measurements of the posterior talar articular surface of the calcaneus were taken and subjected to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) discriminant function analysis. For the single discriminant function derived, accuracy in sex determination was 92.3% and reduction in error over random assignment by sex was 85%.     

Beyond Participation,Hierarchies, Management and Markets: ‘New’ Governance and Place Policies

This paper argues that a ‘new local governance’ discourse offers some promise as a policy framework that can re‐conceptualise the state‐community (and market) relationship and deliver improved community outcomes, particularly in the context of place based or spatial policies and programs.