Evidence-informed or value-based? exploring the scrutiny of legislation in the UK Parliament

This article argues that three types of factor – process, subject and political circumstance – are likely to affect the extent to which claims of evidence are made during legislative scrutiny. It draws upon case studies of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Academies Act 2010 and the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, utilising interviews with those involved and information from Hansard. The article concludes that these cases highlight that while there might be potential benefits from a yet more robust legislative scrutiny process, including greater use of pre-legislative scrutiny and the ability of public bill committees to take evidence from a wider range of witnesses and on all bills, subject and political factors would be likely to mean that the use of claims of evidence would continue to vary widely.     

Playground or Church? Implications for Public Administration from Trinity Lutheran v. Comer

The roots of public administration are in the fields of management, political science, and the law. The law is underrepresented in the literature and is not as well understood by nonlawyer practitioners, yet it increasingly enables, constrains, and prescribes government action. In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case involving whether a government grant awarded on secular criteria must be provided to a qualified church. This article contributes to the field's understanding of the interplay of law and administration by examining the constitutional issues in the case and their implications for public administration. By considering how this dispute was framed and the ways in which the court approached its resolution, public officials can better understand the issues in similar cases; anticipate potential disputes; and (re)design policies that will serve their communities, remain within constitutional limits, and reduce the likelihood of litigation.     

The cyclicality of government foreign-aid expenditure: voter awareness in “good” times and in “bad”

Public Choice - While it has been argued that the cyclicality of government spending likely depends on the intensities of political pressure to increase expenditure, in economic upturns and...     

Investigating the Latent Structure of the Theory of Planned Behavior and its Effectiveness in Explaining Intentions to Participate in Counseling among a Sample of Police Officers

Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to compare two alternative models of Ajzen??s (Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 50:179?C211, 1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The efficacy of the TPB to predict intentions to participate in counseling among a sample (N?=?259) of Irish police officers was investigated using structural equation modelling and based upon responses to a fictitious scenario. The police profession is a highly stressful occupation with many officers suffering from a variety of stress related psychological maladies that could be alleviated with effective psychotherapy. Understanding police officers intentions to participate in psychological counseling is an important endeavour. Results indicated that a modified version of the TPB in which the Perceived Behavioral Control factor was represented by two distinct latent control factors demonstrated superior model fit compared to Ajzen??s original model. Structural equation modelling results indicated that this modified version of the TPB was an effective model in the prediction of counseling seeking intentions explaining 92.6?% of variance in behavioural intentions. Self-efficacy (internal control) was found to be most strongly associated with intentions. Theoretical implications and future research potentials are discussed in light of current findings.     

Challenging Australia's "closed" model of neonatal care: the need for reform following Re baby D (No 2)

The withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment to compromised newborns is a subject of controversy in countries where there is now highly advanced neonatal care to keep such newborns alive. The topic has generated comparatively less debate in Australia, where case law is sparse and parents and clinicians themselves make decisions regarding the cessation of care, largely free from extemal oversight. The recent case of Re Baby D (No 2) [2011] FamCA 176 endorses this "closed" approach to neonatal decision-making. This article critically discusses some of its implications and makes suggestions for reform to ensure meaningful oversight of decisions to withdraw or withhold treatment. The authors argue that the judgment fails to address some fundamental issues, such as ensuring that those with the responsibility to make decisions are doing so on a "best interests" basis. This is important because, in a society where disability remains stigmatised and poorly understood, there is no opportunity under the approach adopted in Baby D to guarantee adequate protection of the rights of individuals born with physical or intellectual impairments.