Coping with Complex Leadership Roles: The Problematic Redefinition of Government-owned Enterprises

Inspired by New Public Management, many countries have changed their central public apparatus from an integrated to a more segregated structural model. A central element in this process is structural devolution and the establishment of new or reorganized state-owned companies with increased business autonomy and new formal control systems. This paper focuses on how this development, as exemplified by the case of Norway, is affecting the role of central executive political and administrative leaders. The study, based on elite interviews, shows that corporatization has made the role of central leaders more complex and ambiguous and undermined traditional political control. We interpret this development from a transformative perspective, underlining how structural devolution is filtered through the dynamic context of environmental pressure and internal structural and cultural factors; in addition, experiences from New Zealand are used to contrast the Norwegian case.     

Weight force during prone restraint and respiratory function

Prone maximal restraint position (PMRP, also known as hogtie or hobble) is often used by law enforcement and prehospital personnel on violent combative individuals in the field setting. Weight force is often applied to the restrained individual's back and torso during the restraint process. We sought to determine the effect of 25 and 50 lbs weight force on respiratory function in human subject volunteers placed in the PMRP. We performed a randomized, cross-over, controlled trial on 10 subjects placed in 4 positions for 5 minutes each: sitting, PRMP, PRMP with 25 lbs weight force (PMRP+25), and PRMP with 50 lbs weight force placed on the back (PMRP+50). We measure pulse oximetry, end-tidal CO2 levels, and forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). FVC and FEV1 were significantly lower in all restraint positions compared with sitting but not significantly different between restraint positions with and without weight force. Moreover, mean oxygen saturation levels were above 95% and mean end-tidal CO2 levels were below 45 mm Hg for all positions. We conclude that PMRP with and without 25 and 50 lbs of weight force resulted in a restrictive pulmonary function pattern but no evidence of hypoxia or hypoventilation.     

The Role of EU Internal Policies in Implementing Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options to Achieve Kyoto Targets

This paper reviews the role of internal European Union (EU) policies and measures in implementing the target for greenhouse gas mitigation in the Kyoto Protocol. It starts with a discussion of the EU Burden Sharing Agreement, which distributes the target between Member States. This leads to a review of the appropriate level of implementation of policies, i.e. at the EU level or Member State level. There is a role for the flexible mechanisms of the Protocol, particularly emission permit trading, in complementing Member State policies at the EU level. The implementation is to be done against the background of three major factors which may have an important bearing on the policies: the probable long-term requirement of substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions a changing structure of energy markets, following liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets EU enlargement to include economies in transition with the potential for further substantial reductions in emissions.The paper concludes with a discussion of ancillary benefits of the policies that may be substantial and a summary of the position as regards the "unfinished business" of the Protocol to be discussed at the Conference of the Parties in the Hague in November 2000.     

Offending the One Percent: Seven Arguments Against Distributive Desert

The belief that people morally deserve the income they acquire in the market is both powerful and deep-rooted. Nevertheless, most political philosophers are skeptical of the idea that market income is morally deserved. There is thus a large and uncomfortable chasm between the philosophical mainstream and the actual public. The purpose of this article was to inject new intellectual effort in closing this gap. The goal is the ambitious one of a comprehensive demolition of the notion of distributive desert. To this end, I put forward seven critical arguments. Four of them are common in the literature. Since these have been adequately discussed elsewhere, I mention them here briefly and only for completeness. The core of the article focuses on three original arguments. Overall, my aim is to show that, taking these arguments together, the case against distributive desert is conclusive.