The Whole-of-Government Approach to Public Sector Reform

In this article, the authors discuss "whole-of-government" initiatives as a reaction to the negative effects of New Public Management reforms such as structural devolution, "single-purpose organizations," and performance management but also as a reaction to a more insecure world. The authors examine what is meant by a "whole-of-government" approach and explore how this concept might be interpreted in analytical terms. The structural approach is contrasted with a cultural perspective and a myth-based perspective. Finally, results, experiences, and lessons from the whole-of-government movement are discussed.     

Transforming Administrative Policy

Administrative policies and practices may evolve and change slowly and incrementally or they may be transformed intentionally. Intentional efforts to change administrative policy by transforming the structure, processes, or personnel of public sector organizations define an active administrative policy. Ideally, an active administrative policy takes as given that the organizational form to be used is open to choice, that administrative goals are clear, that a tight coupling exists between ends and means, that different organizational forms have different effects, and that there are criteria that may be used to assess those effects. This article focuses on the fulfilment of these preconditions in the three national contexts – Norway, Sweden and the United States of America – in order to determine the relevance of a transformative perspective for understanding the process of administrative change. We examine what impact constraints like polity features, historical-institutional traditions and external pressure, particularly through popular international administrative doctrines like New Public Management ideas and financial crises, have on the possibilities to enhance an active national administrative policy.     

Living in the Past? Change and Continuity in the Norwegian Central Civil Service

In this article, the authors describe the changes that have taken place in the Norwegian civil service over the past 30 years, focusing on demographic changes in education and gender and on changes in civil servants' tasks, attitudes, and contact patterns. The changes are analyzed using tenure, structural, and demographic perspectives. The unique empirical database is provided by surveys conducted every 10 years of civil servants in the ministries since 1976. The main empirical findings are that there has been a combination of robustness and change. The findings show little support for the generational version of a tenure perspective, meaning that civil servants are not living in the past. The structural perspective, illustrated by the importance of formal position, best explains the variations in civil servants' contact patterns and attitudes, followed by the career version of a tenure perspective. Demography, as represented by different educational backgrounds and gender, also has an effect.     

Place,Time, and Philanthropy: Exploring Geographic Mobility and Philanthropic Engagement

America is a nation of movers, and this has implications for public and nonprofit managers who rely on donations and volunteers to increase the capacity of nonprofits and to strengthen local communities. This article explores the impact of time and place on philanthropic engagement, focusing on how three aspects of community—sense of belonging, social connections, and regional culture—are related to volunteering and giving to local organizations. The authors find that geographic mobility affects philanthropic engagement. Drawing on a survey of active older Americans, the authors find that three community factors —sense of community, social networks, and regional cultures— are related to one or both types of philanthropic behavior. The authors conclude by offering thoughts for future research and practice.     

The left‐wing opposition in Denmark,Norway and Sweden: Cases of Euro‐phobia?

This article maps the three major Left‐Socialist parties in Denmark, Norway and Sweden and their attitude towards European integration. It focuses on why the three parties, despite a common vision of Europe, differ when it comes to the question of membership in the European Union. The analysis stresses that both differences in party history and political context have to be accounted for when explaining the parties’ policy stands.     

The hidden trillions: Secrecy,corruption, and the offshore interface

This paper considers the role of secrecy jurisdictions in creating a supply-side stimulus for corrupt practices and explores the use of the newly created Financial Secrecy Index as a tool for assessing and ranking such jurisdictions. Secrecy jurisdictions are a prominent feature of international financial markets, providing a combination of low or zero tax rates, lax regulation, weak international judicial cooperation, and—above all—legalised secrecy facilities. Citing the case of Barbados, this paper shows how an environment of legalised secrecy is purposefully created by not requiring disclosure of ownership information for corporations, trusts, foundations and other legal entities; through non-participation or ineffective participation in judicial cooperation and information exchange; and through laws to protect banking secrecy arrangements. Taken in combination these factors make secrecy jurisdictions attractive conduits for illicit cross-border financial flows and the harbouring of dirty money. Using secrecy jurisdictions as platforms for their operations, legal and financial intermediaries create complex and opaque offshore structures to facilitate economic crime and impede investigation. Current international efforts to stem the activities of secrecy jurisdictions are largely ineffective, but civil society is raising pressure for effective action to be taken against offshore secrecy.     

Use of a Gelatin‐based Consolidant to Preserve Thermally‐Altered Skeletal Remains,

Thermally altered skeletal remains can be very fragile and fragmented and are typically further fragmented or even destroyed when handled; recovery of such remains from a scene can therefore be extremely challenging. There are few recommendations and no generally accepted practices for preserving burned bone for recovery and transport. Here, we test whether the application of a gelatin‐based consolidant at the scene can preserve thermally altered bone in the condition and relative anatomical position in which it was discovered. A solution of Knox^® brand gelatin and water was applied to burned pig mandibles using a spray bottle. Qualitative and quantitative analysis indicates that the application of the consolidant significantly decreased fragmentation as compared to untreated controls (p < 0.05), with most of the treated mandibles remaining completely intact after recovery and transport to a secondary location. In addition to the effectiveness for preservation, the method is also easy to apply, inexpensive, and reversible.