Comparative Legal Studies and Commitment to Theory

Peter de Cruz, A Modern Approach to Comparative Law , Deventer: Kluwer, 1993, x + 350 pp, Dfl 90.     

Du Modèle Du Jeu Au Jeu Des Modèles

Sans résumé     

The loss of that which never was: Evaluating changes to the senior management of the Public Health Agency of Canada

In the fall of 2014, the Government of Canada formally split the role of the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) into two positions: the CPHO and the President of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Despite concerns raised by the public health community, these changes are consistent with the CPHO's authority. However, the nature of responsible government means that the CPHO cannot simultaneously serve as an independent advocate for policies and programs that might prevent disease and as a senior advisor to the government of the day.     

Les enjeux de l'évaluation de la performance : Dépasser les mythes

Since the 1990s, most Western countries have equipped themselves with frameworks and tools to measure health organizations and systems' performance. Paradoxically, several theoretical, methodological and usage issues remain unresolved. Conceptually, the notion of performance is vague and not well rooted in theory. From a methodological perspective, we are faced with numerous measures that don't always meet reliability, validity and usefulness criteria and don't help to grasp the complexity of the concept. Finally, the assessment results are not fully used to continuously improve performance. This article focuses on analyzing these issues by deconstructing the myths that slow down the development of better‐suited frameworks to meet decision‐makers' needs. It also proposes innovations based on the global and integrated assessment model of health systems.     

The Northern Ireland crisis in perspective

Abstract

The urban guerrilla warfare that has been taking lives in Northern Ireland for the past sixteen years cannot be regarded as an anachronistic settling of scores between “papists” and “prods” in an inferior remake of Europe's seventeenth‐century wars of religion. It is a conflict of our time and its distinguishing features cannot quite conceal a problem common to most divided countries, especially those—like Cyprus and Lebanon—which are shaken by similar convulsions.     

Accountability by Professionalism or Managerialism? Exploring Attitudes Among Swedish and Norwegian Local Government Leaders

Most developed countries continue to experience problems with malfeasance and corruption, making accountability a fundamental concern of the public government. Still, the mechanisms which ensure accountability are not given. This article explores two different and apparently conflicting principles of accountability in public organizations: “Professionalism” based on values and internalized incentive structures and “Managerialism” based on externalized incentives and hierarchy. The empirical analysis is based on a comparative survey among local government leaders in Sweden and Norway. The analysis shows that both professionalism and managerialism are regarded as important means for accountability and tend to be understood as complementary more than competing principles.