Parkinson's Law and the New Public Management? Contracting Determinants and Service‐Quality Consequences in Public Education

Why is contracting used more frequently under some circumstances than others? What is its impact on spending for core mission and on service quality? These questions are explored with data from more than 1,000 Texas school districts. The evidence for a recent three‐year period shows that contracting is negatively related to spending on school districts' central task and is not positively associated with district performance. Why, then, do districts contract? While several variables are associated with the degree of contracting, the most interesting is the relative size of a district's bureaucratic staff. Furthermore, the relationship between contracting and bureaucracy is reciprocal: Each is associated with subsequent growth in the other. The dynamic suggests an updated version of Parkinson's law. These findings indicate the need for researchers to probe the causes and consequences of contracting more thoroughly to help public managers assess this important option.     

Beta-hydroxybutyric acid--an indicator for an alcoholic ketoacidosis as cause of death in deceased alcohol abusers

We analyzed the postmortem blood of a total of 100 fatal cases for beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA). In 25 cases of sudden and unexpected death of alcoholics we found pathologically increased levels of BHBA of 1260 to 47200 (median 8000) micromol/L. This led us to the diagnosis of an alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA) as cause of death in these cases. The control group of 69 postmortem cases revealed that BHBA concentrations below 500 can be regarded as normal, and values up to 2500 micromol/L as elevated. Our study shows that BHBA values over 2500 micromol/L could lead to death, if no medical attention is sought. During storage we did not find any indication of postmortem formation or decomposition of BHBA in blood in vitro or in the corpses. In our opinion, BHBA should be considered the diagnostic marker of choice for the postmortem determination of alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA) as the cause of death. The classical indications of such deaths are: unexpected death of a chronic alcoholic; none or only traces of ethanol in the blood; increased acetone blood concentration; and neither autopsy, histology, microbiology, nor toxicology reveal the cause of death. In six further cases a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) was diagnosed as the cause of death.     

Tort Reform and Regulation of the Insurance Industry: Medical Malpractice Liability Proposals in 1986

Tort reform was a key issue for state legislatures in 1986.It pitted powerful interests against other powerful interests;it raised basic questions about common law; and it threatenedto alter the federal system by having the federal governmentclaim greater control over tort law and insurance regulation.In this article we set the background that led to this flurryof attention, review the major proposals for reform, and outlinethe actions of both the federal government and state governments.The federal government did little in 1986; it still faces thequestion of whether to preempt traditional state authority inthese areas. At the same time, virtually every state acted in1986. Early in the year, the insurance industry (and physicians)set the debate—its topic, tone, and terms. By the timeother interested parties got organized, many states had actedgenerally following the recommendations of the insurance industry.Later in the year, the debate became more heated, and the insuranceindustry had much more difficulty securing desired state action.As a result, many issues were carried forward to 1987.     

Bewertungskonstellationen. Theoretische Überlegungen zur Soziologie der Bewertung

The article discusses central research questions currently prevailing in the sociology of valuation. It argues that the perspective of “methodological situationalism”, which currently dominates within valuation studies, overemphasizes “moments” of valuation, and thus ignores trans-situational forces, which are highly consequential in processes of valuation. On the basis of this diagnosis, the article puts forth the concept of “valuation constellations” which allows observing valuations’ transsituativity in a systematical manner. The concept distinguishes different positions – valuee, valuator, and audience – and emphasizes the relevance of their relations in shaping valuations. Moreover, the article underscores that valuation constellations always unfold against the background of trans-situationally valid rules as well as technological infrastructures operating on a trans-situational level. Ultimately, the concept facilitates new research questions for the sociology of valuation.     

Controlling technology by shaping visions

In policy theory, technology assessment is most effective when applied in the early stages of research and development, when changes are easier. This ability depends on the qualities of the given tools. Visions and metaphors enjoy much attention today because they provide an early but sustainable orientation. Understanding their necessarily ambivalent nature, their social function, and their cognitive significance provides the basis for their use in analysis. Working with visions more systematically than we do today can improve the selection of technological alternatives. While the method of assessing future technologies with metaphors will not (and cannot, just like all other technology assessments) forecast subsequent decisions, it provides insights about tomorrow's technologies that can inform today's decisions.     

Wakeup Call: Strategic Management,Network Alarms,and Performance

New empirical evidence suggests that service performance is shaped by the strategies adopted by public organizations and the networking behavior of public managers. Strategy captures two central behavioral aspects of public organizations: the way in which objectives and actions are selected (processes), and an organization’s approach to service delivery (content). Networking is similarly concerned with the behavior of public managers as they interact with others. These twin themes are linked in an integrated study that explores the relationship between strategy, networking, and service performance within a sample of English local governments. The results show that strategy processes based on rational planning offer long‐run positive effects on public services, as does a strategic proactive stance.     

Managing in the Regulatory Thicket: Regulation Legitimacy and Expertise

Although the influence of government regulation on organizations is undeniable, empirical research in this field is scarce. This article investigates how the understanding of and attitudes toward government regulation among public, nonprofit, and for‐profit managers affect organizational performance, using U.S. nursing homes as the empirical setting. Findings suggest that managers’ perceptions of regulation legitimacy—views of regulation fairness, inspectors’ effectiveness, and internal utility of the mandates—positively affect service quality. Subgroup analysis suggests that managers’ views of regulation matter in nonprofit and for‐profit organizations but not in public organizations. In nonprofit homes, performance declines when managers report higher regulatory expertise—better knowledge of the regulatory standards. In for‐profit facilities, frequent communication with regulators lowers quality. These findings suggest that the regulated entities’ views of government regulation are central to their success, which necessitates improvements in the regulatory process.