Books in review

has taught at the universities of London and York. He is author of The Making of Sociology, The Shaking of the Foundations: Family and Society,and The Abolitionists—The Family and Marriage under Attack.Fletcher’s own book on Burt, Science, Ideology, and the Media,will be issued by Transaction in 1991.     

Big Windows and Little Windows: Implementation in the 'Congested State'

This paper argues for the need to re-assess models of policy implementation in the 'congested state'. This re-appraisal focuses on two main directions. The first involves locating implementation in the context of wider models of the policy process. We fuse three models, those of Kingdon, Wolman, and Challis et al ., to form a new 'policy streams' approach. The second examines implementation in multi-level governance. In the UK and elsewhere, much of the focus of traditional implementation studies has been on the link between one central government department and a local agency. However, this vertical (central-local) dimension fails to give sufficient stress to the other horizontal dimensions of 'central-central' and 'local-local'. Paraphrasing Kingdon's terms, implementation models also need to incorporate the 'little windows' at local level as well as the 'big' windows at national level. Using evidence relating to the implementation of UK policy towards health inequalities, this paper argues successful implementation is more likely when the three policy streams are linked across the three dimensions. The model is thought to be applicable to other areas of the public sectors and complex issues facing all governments.     

The influence of Austrian humanism in Theodor Herzl's vision of a Jewish state

Theodor Herzl's thought was a product of an austrian political and humanist culture. His political values were formed within a multinational, cameralist tradition that at its best bred a tolerance for differing persons and cultures but isolated the private individual from a responsible role in his or her own governance. The problem of governmental power in relation to the members of its society became for Herzl a conundrum whose solution was a redistribution of that power downward. Herzl's depiction of the future Jewish state in his 1896 The Jewish State and in his 1902 novel Old-New Land offers the vision of a privatized society in which each citizen may eventually become a cooperative owner. An examination of Herzl's vision reveals a thread of Austrian humanistic concepts and values that have characterized social-economic thought in Austria since the Enlightenment.     

A preliminary prevention program for eating disorders in a junior high school population

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of an experimental program presented to junior high school students that focused on attitudes and knowledge about body weight, dieting, and purging as well as behavioral intentions to diet effectively. In Study 1, the experimental group and the control group were pretested. Two days after pretesting, the subjects in the experimental condition were presented a short videotape followed by a discussion. Both the videotape and discussion were presented by a 23-year-old female. All subjects were assessed again four days and one month after pretesting. In Study 2, subjects were assessed as in Study 1, however, the videotape and discussion were presented by the regular Home Economics I teacher. Based on comparisons of the experimental groups and the control groups, it was found that the experimental program in both studies was successful in changing subject's knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions regarding some aspects of their eating behavior. Limitations of these findings were discussed, as well as implications for further research.Received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri—Columbia. Interested in applied work with adolescents and adults.Received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Michigan State University.Research interests in eating disorders and intimate relationships.     

City of secrets: Drugs, money and the law in Hong Kong

This paper describes Hong Kong's first successful money laundering case, including the key role played by the local subsidiary of the now-defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). Hong Kong is revealed to be the organizational and financial linchpin of a heroin smuggling syndicate stretching from Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle to New York City. In addition, the paper analyzes the development of anti-money laundering legislation in Hong Kong and evaluates the former British colony's prospects for remaining East Asia's premier offshore finance center following the territory's return to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.