Policy roles: an analysis of policy formulators and policy implementors

This paper presents an empirical analysis of individuals in policy formulating and policy implementing roles. Data for the comparison are from interviews with a random sample of 119 New Zealand middle-level public administrators from 27 government departments.The individuals in the policy formulating roles were slightly younger; however, those in the formulating and implementing roles varied little from each other in terms of social background, educational attainment and career patterns. Few differences were evident in regard to job satisfaction, decisional authority, and hierarchical relations. Significant differences between policy formulators and policy implementors were discovered in terms of work load, career aspirations, and awareness of political influences in governmental policymaking.From the evidence of this study, the New Zealand administrative system does not allocate policy formulating roles to individuals different from those who implement policies. Differences between formulators and implementors in the New Zealand system appear to stem from the nature of the work of the two policy roles.     

Genetic Testing and the Future of Disability Insurance: Ethics, Law & Policy

Predictive genetic testing poses fundamental questions for disability insurance, a crucial resource funding basic needs when disability prevents income from work. This article, from an NIH-funded project, presents the first indepth analysis of the challenging issues: Should disability insurers be permitted to consider genetics and exclude predicted disability? May disabilities with a recognized genetic basis be excluded from coverage as pre-existing conditions? How can we assure that private insurers writing individual and group policies, employers, and public insurers deal competently and appropriately with genetic testing?     

Nonprofits and Civic Engagement

There are approximately 800,000 501(c)(3) nonprofits large enough to register with the federal government. Add churches, foundations, and nonprofits too small to register, and the number is far higher than that. The potential for nonprofits to engage their clients and members in community affairs and public policy making is, in theory, enormous. Yet, perversely, nonprofits are regulated by the federal government in such a way that discourages the involvement of their followers in the public policymaking process. This is a problem, not simply because we social scientists believe civic engagement is a good thing, but because these regulatory standards sharply skew public participation. Although middle- and upper-class individuals have many organizations that engage and mobilize them, nonprofits usually are the only organizations that work on behalf of the poor, those without health insurance, immigrants, the disabled, and most other marginalized constituencies. Put bluntly, federal law works against the participation of the most disadvantaged in society.     

The Reagan Administration's Foreign Policy, 1981–1985: Learning to Live with Uncertainty?

The Reagan administration's foreign policy from 1981 to 1985 provides an intriguing test of a central problem faced by foreign-policy-makers: the need to cope with uncertainty in policy formulation and implementation. This article sets out to explore the problem and to formulate propositions about the ways in which policy-makers might respond to it. The argument has three stages: first, it identifies some sources and manifestations of uncertainty in foreign policy; secondly, it develops a framework within which policy-makers' responses to uncertainty can be located; and finally, it applies the framework to Reaganite foreign policy. Two sets of conclusions emerge: first, that it is important to identify ways in which foreign-policy-makers both accept uncertainty and adjust to it; and secondly, that the identification of shifting patterns of response leads to further questions about the 'learning processes' manifested in policy-making.     

Heckler v. Campbell and the grid: are disability claimants entitled to examples of suitable jobs?

The Social Security Administration promulgated the medical-vocational guidelines (the grid) in 1978 in order to improve consistency and efficiency in disability claim adjudications. The grid takes administrative notice of the availability of jobs suited to claimants' capabilities, eliminating the need to make such a determination on a case-by-case basis. In Heckler v. Campbell, the Supreme Court held that the grid is valid and that the Secretary of Health and Human Services cannot be required to give specific examples of jobs available in the national economy. In so doing, the Court reversed the Second Circuit, which had required the Secretary to give claimants examples of jobs suited to their individual characteristics to assure them adequate notice of the issues involved in their hearings. This Case Comment contends that the Supreme Court misperceived the Second Circuit's purpose in requiring the Secretary to provide specific examples of available jobs. Nonetheless, the Comment argues that the Supreme Court decision does not foreclose requiring such examples to assure adequate notice and to aid in resolving adjudicative factual issues. This Comment concludes that such a requirement would improve the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of Social Security disability determinations.     

Party Committee Targeting and the Evolution of Competition in US House Elections

This paper examines the effects of the increased role of party organizations in the recruitment and funding of congressional candidates in the US House post-1994. The recent uncertainty over which party will gain majority control of the House has transformed the role of party organizations in House campaigns. Despite the new resources devoted to each competitive seat in the House we find minimal changes in the overall competitiveness of US House elections. Additionally, the vast majority of potentially competitive seats do not draw a high quality challenger. Our results suggest that if parties recruited more quality candidates in the full range of these conceivably winnable seats this effort could produce more competitive seats or more seat turnover in the House.     

Investigation into Seasonal Scavenging Patterns of Raccoons on Human Decomposition,

Although raccoons are known as one of the most common scavengers in the U.S., scavenging by these animals has seldom been studied in terms of forensic significance. In this research, the seasonal pattern of raccoon scavenging and its effect on human decomposition was investigated using 178 human cadavers placed at the Anthropological Research Facility (ARF) of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) between February 2011 and December 2013. The results reveal that (i) the frequency of scavenging increases during summer, (ii) scavenging occurs relatively immediately and lasts shorter in summer months, and (iii) scavenging influences the decomposition process by hollowing limbs and by disturbing insect activities, both of which eventually increases the chance of mummification on the affected body. This information is expected to help forensic investigators identify raccoon scavenging as well as make a more precise interpretation of the effect of raccoon scavenging on bodies at crime scenes.