MEMBERSHIP OF THE ‘NEW STYLE’ HEALTH AUTHORITIES: CONTINUITY OR CHANGE?

The 1989 White Paper 'Working for Patients' continued the process begun by Griffiths of managerial reform and the introduction of private sector concepts into the NHS. One of the new proposals was to change the composition and constitution of health authorities, both to avoid the assumed weaknesses of the existing format and to emulate the pattern found in the private sector.
The essence of the change was the removal of the representational elements on authorities, both of medical professionals and nominees from the local authority. The health authorities were reduced in size to just eleven members and for the first time executives were included. Previous attempts at reform within the NHS have been judged to have resulted in more continuity than change. This article examines in detail who the new members are and assesses the balance between continuity and change.
Despite a high level of continuity of membership, there are signs of more fundamental change. There is a significant increase in the proportion of non-executive members from the private sector and with the inclusion of executives, a stronger managerial role is emerging. The article concludes by assessing what the implications of these changes maybe.     

TENANT PARTICIPATION AND TENANT POWER IN BRITISH COUNCIL HOUSING

In this article we examine the relationship between tenant participation and tenants' power. This is done by adopting an approach to power put forward by Clegg (1989) and using it to examine the findings of a study of tenant Participation based on a national survey of local authorities and detailed case studies in six local authorities in Britain. The key question addressed is whether tenant participation empowers tenants. The conclusion is that power is a very complex phenomenon which defies simple definition and analysis. Nevertheless some factors are identified, an awareness of which aids analysis of tenant participation and helps those involved both to make sense of it and to focus their attention on the factors which could determine their ability to achieve their objectives.     

MEASURING PROTECTIVE HANDGUN OWNERSHIP*

Hill et al. (1985) have suggested a measure of protective handgun ownership that can be implemented in an omnibus survey like the General Social Survey (GSS), which does not ask respondents why they own the gun. Using the 1980 GSS and their refined measure, Hill et al. report (among other things) that fear of crime and prior victimization increase the likelihood that men, but not women, will own handguns for protection. Their analysis, however, is Jawed because (1) they made errors in their analysis and (2) their measure of protective handgun ownership is biased. This paper explains why the measure is biased and shows how the measure alters parameter estimates.