The succession of policy termination

Despite the cessation of a variety of governmental organisations, policies and programmes in the UK throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the termination concept which emerged during the late 1970s remains heavily under utilised. This is attributed partly to the effects of the same incremental practices which termination was designed to solve; partly to the difficulties of distinguishing the categories of ‘termination’ from ‘succession’ ; and partly to Kaufman's assertion that organisational survival was a matter of chance, and therefore not fruitful to study. Academic interest in governmental cessations remains firmly rooted in the termination of organisations; much less attention has been paid to the ending of policies and programmes. Management science research can be used to challenge assertions about the lack of pattern in organisational survival, and the way in which political science has operationalised the concept of incerementalist, suggesting the applicability of semi rationalist techniques in an incrementalist world. Using a hierarchical reformulation of de Leon's 1978 categorisation of governmental functions, organisations, policies and programmes it is here suggested that ‘termination’ and ‘succession’ are distinct. In doing so, the aim is to demonstrate the practical utility of the termination concept, both for analysis, and for practitioners whose interest is centred on the opportunity cost savings which cessations can make available.     

制度变迁与基础教育公平

改革中的基础教育资源的不均衡配置使得弱势群体子女在获得基础教育方面处于劣势地位.为了维护基础教育的公正,地方政府应当关注住房制度改革与基础教育制度之间的交互作用,在城市规划、保障性住房建设过程中均衡基础教育资源配置,通过政策和市场手段维护基础教育的公平与效率.     

Translating research into evidence-based practice in juvenile justice: brand-name programs,meta-analysis,and key issues

Objectives

To investigate the utility of two main approaches for translating research into evidence-based practice in juvenile justice: (a) brand-name programs that are identified by lists of various expert groups and come with implementation and quality assurance packages offered by program developers; and (b) results of large-scale meta-analyses that offer a number of generalized strategies (or generics) for improving existing programs.

Methods

Informed by prospect theory, a first-stage analytic decision-tree model was developed that included three comparable evidence-based programs (two brand names and one generic). Implementation success was a key factor, and analyses were conducted under two conditions.

Results

Under the first condition, where brand-name programs have a large advantage in implementation success over generic programs, it was found that the brand-name programs had the highest expected values. Under the second condition, which considered the role of Lipsey et al.’s (2010) Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol, it was found that all three programs produced highly favorable expected values.

Conclusions

Brand-name programs and meta-analyses represent two rigorous and transparent approaches for advancing evidence-based practice in juvenile justice. State governments should consider the merits of both approaches through a decision-tree model, paying particular attention to implementation success as well as financial costs and benefits derived from rigorous cost–benefit analysis.     

Chemical fingerprinting of adhesive tapes by GCMS detection of petroleum hydrocarbon products

Pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes often represent key evidence of crimes such as assault, rape or homicide; thus, the development of analytical techniques able to contribute to a detailed characterization of these materials is of forensic importance. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis of the solvent extractable fractions of a suite of electrical and gaffer adhesive tapes spanning a range of colors and manufacturers identified a number of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. Molecular and isotopic analyses of hydrocarbon constituents of complex materials have found wide analytical utility including the forensic investigation of oil spills and arson. Here, we investigate the utility of these techniques for characterizing the hydrocarbon composition of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes for forensic correlation purposes. Subtle distinction of tape samples was evident in the GCMS distribution of several hydrocarbon groups including alkyl-naphthalenes, hopane and sterane biomarkers. Linear discriminant analysis of the abundances of these products provided high level differentiation of tape manufacturer. The distinction of different adhesive tape samples was further extended by measurement of their stable carbon isotopic values. The molecular and isotopic differences of the petroleum content of tapes are consistent with the use of different petroleum materials used in the manufacturing process and demonstrate the benefits of the combined use of complementary oil hydrocarbon characterization approaches. This study reveals the forensic potential of using established petroleum characterization methods for characterizing materials with a petroleum-derived hydrocarbon element.     

The analysis of forensic samples using laser micro-pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Laser micropyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is used for the analysis of paint, photocopier toner, and synthetic fiber materials to test the forensic potential of this emerging technology. It uses a laser microprobe to selectively target very small parts of the materials for GC-MS analysis. Whereas the paint and the toner samples were amenable to direct laser pyrolysis, the synthetic fibers proved transparent to the 1064 nm laser radiation. The difficulty with the fibers demonstrates that a specific laser wavelength may not be appropriate for all types of materials. Nevertheless, the fibers were able to be indirectly pyrolyzed by impregnation in a strongly absorbing graphite matrix. A vast array of hydrocarbon pyrolysates was detected from the different materials studied. Unique product distributions were detected from each sample and in sufficient detail to facilitate individual molecular characterization (i.e., molecular fingerprinting). The integrity of the laser data were confirmed by comparison to data obtained from the same samples by the more conventional pyroprobe pyrolysis GC-MS method. The high spatial resolution and selectivity of the laser method may be advantageous for specific forensic applications, however, further work may be required to improve the reproducibility of the data.     

The “Europeanization” of the Basel process: Financial harmonization between globalization and parliamentarization

Public policy initiatives aimed at the prevention of future financial crises originate with global harmonization in the form of executive standards issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. This article explores the role of the European Parliament (EP) in the process of adapting the standards in European Union legislation passed in 2013 as the Capital Requirements Regulation/Capital Requirements Directive IV. Unlike accounts casting the EP as increasingly dependent upon outside sources in order to meet its enhanced legislative role, we find it increasingly dexterous in developing and using in‐house policy ideas, expertise, and not least a common sense of institutional purpose. Notable EP successes in final legislation include (but are not restricted to) a headline cap on bankers' bonuses in the face of entrenched business and national interests. The argument is developed by drawing upon a broad range of interviews together with other primary and secondary sources, tracing the contribution of the EP from the early stages of agenda‐setting through to the development of an “esprit de corps” among the committee lead team which survived intact throughout the “black box” of trilogue negotiations. Besides illuminating the notoriously opaque trilogue process, the analysis also contributes to contemporary debates about whether the EP's increased legislative powers are resulting in a shift away from its traditional allegiances with diffuse interests toward a greater engagement with producer sources in order to fulfill requirements for policy expertise.