Seeing the Forest for the Trees: An Atlas of the Politics–Administration Dichotomy

Recent years have seen attempts to make sense of the politics–administration dichotomy. Triangulating among historical research, empirical observations, new models of interaction between politicians and administrators, and the division of the literature into “schools,” novel ways of understanding and examining the dichotomy have developed. These have been largely thematic and have revealed the extent of a literature spanning more than 120 years. Because of its size, a complementary structural analysis of the literature now not only is conceivably useful but also can offer means for approaching it. This article offers an atlas—that is, a series of visual maps, accompanied by associated statistics and interpretations—that can assist researchers in their travels through the territory of the dichotomy. Ten ways of tackling the literature are presented, culminating in an initial reading list that covers the breadth of dichotomy research, thus providing an epistemological foundation for those who wish to enter the territory.     

Nineteenth century newspaper accounts of a murder committed by an inmate of a Scottish asylum

This study explores an incident from the late nineteenth century in which an inmate at the Royal Dundee Lunatic Asylum murdered a fellow patient while working in the hospital grounds. The incident was reported extensively in the local press in the days following the event. Analysis of these reports reveals a picture, which while recognisable to the twenty-first century newspaper reader, does however depart from contemporary media reporting in some important ways. We argue that while the image of the unpredictable dangerousness of the lunatic has a long history and is deeply embedded in popular conceptions of mental disorder, shaping public perceptions of those with mental illnesses, it is the manner in which this is presented by the media that has bearing upon how the case is understood by wider society.     

How HIV-Positive Aboriginal Women (PAW) Talk About Their Mothering Experiences With Child and Family Services in Ontario

Aboriginal families are disproportionately involved with Children's Aid Societies (or CAS), which is of concern given the history of colonization, assimilation, and child welfare policies that fail to recognize Indigenous practices within Canada. There is no historical data regarding HIV-positive Aboriginal women's (PAW) experiences and interactions with the child welfare system, despite a high degree of HIV-related stigma and discrimination by CAS staff coupled with lack of HIV knowledge and sensitivity to provide culturally appropriate care to PAW and their children. This article is relevant to local and international child welfare practices, and specifically to CAS agencies across Ontario.     

Managers of Transition—Leadership in Post-Communist Romanian Companies

The article presents the perspectives of managers as part of the Romanian organisational elite on the communist regime and on the transition period, and the values and principles that informed their behaviour as managers in each period. For the first decade after the end of communist rule, managers were drawn mainly from the second level of management of the state-owned enterprises of communist times. As a group they had been selected and formed in late communism. Among the main advantages of this social group were that they demonstrated considerable survival capacity, ideological neutrality and an ability to manoeuvre in a turbulent environment. On the other hand they had to adapt to their new environment drawing on the skills and mentality they had developed under the old regime. The research employed a qualitative method based on the interpretation of conversations between managers and students.     

二十年后的总结（二）

社会层面也是我们的探讨中不可缺少的，社会制度要为人民带来更多福祉。对于我们这一代中的很多人而言，共产主义意味着在某种程度上享有受教育和参与文化活动的权利。在一个国家中，受教育及享受医疗服务等公共服务权利的扩大有助于推动精英阶层的发展。但是如果我们考虑到这种制度整体的表现，这一制度在社会方面的结果不过是催生了贫困和有限的公民福利。     

二十年后的总结(一)

1989年，用一种概括性的表达方式来讲，是一个“短暂世纪”末期的巨大冲击。我和其他的当事人亲身经历了这一不仅对罗马尼亚历史而言，更对整个国际社会而言的高峰期。1989年的革命最终以苏联在1991年的颠覆作为终结，影响了整个当代历史。