Social policy and political paradigms

The Idea of Welfare. By BOBERT PINKER Richard Titmuss: Welfare and Society. By D.A. REISMAN The Law of Longer Life. By c. NORTHCOTE PARKINSON and HERMAN LE COMPTE. Troy, Alabama     

“Tell It Like It Is”: Decision Making,Groupthink, and Decisiveness among U.S. Federal Subcabinet Executives

In addition to difficulties gathering and evaluating complete information, cognitive limitations and biases preclude individuals from making fully value‐maximizing choices when making decisions. It has been suggested that, done properly, involving advisors can compensate for individual‐level limitations. However, the “groupthink” tradition has highlighted ways group‐aided decision making can fail to live up to its potential. Out of this literature has emerged a paradigm Janis calls “vigilant problem‐solving.” For this article, we interviewed 20 heads of subcabinet‐level organizations in the U.S. federal government, asking questions about how they made important decisions. Ten were nominated by “good‐government” experts, 10 chosen at random. We wanted to see whether there were differences in how members of those two groups made decisions, specifically, to what extent executives in the two categories used a “vigilant” process. We found, however, that similarities between the two groups overwhelmed differences: As best as we were able to measure, decision making by U.S. subcabinet executives tracks vigilant decision making recommendations fairly closely. The similarity reflects a common style of senior‐level decision making, which we theorize grows out of government bureaucracy's methodical culture. We did, however, develop evidence for a difference between outstanding executives and others on another dimension of decision making style. Outstanding executives valued decision making decisiveness—“bias for action”—more than the comparison group. Perhaps, then, what distinguishes outstanding executives from others is not vigilance but decisiveness. Contrary to the implications of the groupthink literature, the danger in government may be “paralysis by analysis” as much or more than groupthink.     

Detection Rates, An International Comparison

Within Europe detection rates vary considerably. The differences are too large to be explained purely by the ability of the police to solve cases. In a study covering nine European countries many other factors (external, organisational and technical factors) influencing the detection rate are identified and the influence is empirically made plausible. Next, a comparison is made between the punishment rate and the detection rate. The fact that punishment rates are more stable is explained by the difference between a crime oriented and an offender oriented approach. Also a link is made with the discretionary powers of the police and prosecution.     

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.     

Marking pheromones deterring repeated oviposition in Rhagoletis flies

We confirm the existence of oviposition-deterring, fruit-marking pheromones inRhagoletis pomonella andR. fausta and demonstrate their existence in five additional species:R. cingulata, R. indifferens, R. mendax, R. cornivora andR. tabellaria. Individuals from (1) different species belonging to different species groups did not recognize each other's marking pheromones, (2) different species within the same species group varied in reaction from complete to no cross-recognition, (3) different wild populations of the same species always recognized each other's marking pheromones, and (4) a laboratory population ofR. pomonella cultured on apples for ca. fifteen generations deposited a marking pheromone less deterrent to oviposition than that from a wild population. Finally, the watersoluble marking pheromones ofR. indifferens andR. cornivora proved effective deterrents to oviposition when collected and reapplied in aqueous solution to uninfested fruit in laboratory cages.

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Zusammenfassung Bei fünfRhagoletisarten wird der Nachweis von Eiablage-abschreckenden, Frucht-markierenden Pheromonen zum ersten Mal geführt:R. cingulata, R. indifferens, R. mendax, R. cornivora undR. tabellaria. Damit erh?ht sich die Zahl vonRhagoletisarten auf neun und die Zahl von pflanzenparasitischen Insektenarten auf zehn, bei denen derartige Pheromone bekannt sind. Wenn Glieder dieser fünf Arten und zus?tzlich vonR. pomonella undR. fausta untersucht wurden auf den Grad des Interpopulation-und innerartlichen Erkennens der Markierungspheromone, so ergab sich: 1. Verschiedene Populationen der selben Art erkennen untereinander die Pheromone, unabh?ngig von Wirt und Herkunft; 2. Verschiedene Arten innerhalb der gleichen Artengruppe variieren in ihrer Reaktion zwischen vollst?ndigem, teilweisem und fehlendem krouzweisen Pheromon-Erkennen; und 3. Verschiedene Arten von verschiedenen Artengruppen erkennen nicht gegenseitig ihre Pheromone, auch wenn sie von Wirten gleicher Gattung oder Art kommen. — Die bisher nicht identifizierten, wasserl?slichen Markierungspheromone vonR. indifferens undR. cornivora erwiesen sich als stark Eiablage-abschreckend, wenn sie von markierten Früchten gewonnen und in w?ssriger L?sung bei unbefallenen Früchten in Labork?figen wieder angewendet wurden.