Philadelphia's ``Black Mafia': Assessing and advancing current interpretations

In the history and the study of organizedcrime, the validity and reliability ofsources have been particularly problematicmatters. Governmental fact-finding bodiesare frequently cited in this research area,including the now-defunct PennsylvaniaCrime Commission. For example, studiesoccasionally reference Philadelphia's``Black Mafia,' and each of these inquiriesrelies upon the work of the PennsylvaniaCrime Commission for ``analysis' of thegroup. In this article, the Commission'sfindings are presented and then critiqued. Significant Black Mafia activitiesunder-researched by the Commission are nextanalyzed, adding context to the currentunderstanding of the group. The articlechallenges current assumptions, places thegroup's history in context, and illustratesthe utility of primary source research.     

Crime prevention through environmental design: financial hardship, the dynamics of power, and the prospects of governance

Borrowing from Foucault (Governmentality. In G. Burchell, C. Gordon, & P. Miller (Eds.), Governmentality: The Foucault effect: Studies in governmentality (pp. 87–104). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991) and Foucault and Gordon (Power-knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972–1977. Hassocks: Harvester Press, 1980) and the work of governmentality scholars in general, this paper examines Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) as a strategic form of governance. Using qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews with CPTED practitioners and supporters, I argue that the putative availability of expendable capital mediates, although does not necessarily negate, a practitioner’s ability to secure the conduct of conduct through the sharing of CPTED expertise. The importance of shifting power dynamics are examined before evaluating the data vis-à-vis contemporary scholarship in the areas of governmentality and crime and criminal justice research.     

THE SUCCESS of the 1993 BUDGET RECONCILIATION BILL at REDUCING the FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT

This article discusses the process by which President Clinton achieved a budgetdeficit reduction package in Congress and the implications of this process. It concludes that future administrations will have more flexibility in debating whether the federal government should increase its scope or reduce taxes.     

The National Schoolmarm: No Child Left Behind and the New Educational Federalism

The 2002 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law dramatically reshapedthe federal role in K-12 education in the United States. Theimplementation of NCLB has been difficult and contentious, butmuch of the journalistic and scholarly coverage has underestimatedthe source, strength, and stability of the political coalitionthat originally pushed for passage of the law and appears likelyto sustain federal activism in education for the long term.For much of American history, the principle of federalism exerteda powerful restraining influence on the size and character ofthe federal role in education—but that time appears tohave passed. Regardless of whether NCLB ultimately improvesschools or student achievement, the law has created a new educationalfederalism in the United States.     

Traditions of governance: interpreting the changing role of the public sector

The role of the state is changing under the impact of, for example, globalization. The changes have been variously understood as the new public management (NPM), the hollowing–out of the state and the new governance. This special issue of Public Administration explores the changing role of the state in advanced industrial democracies. It focuses on the puzzle of why states respond differently to common trends.
This introductory article has three aims. First, we provide a brief review of the existing literature on public sector reform to show that our approach is distinctive. We argue that the existing literature does not explore the ways in which governmental traditions shape reform. Second, we outline an interpretive approach to the analysis of public sector reform built on the notions of beliefs, traditions, dilemmas and narratives. We provide brief illustrations of these ideas drawn from the individual country articles. Finally, we outline the ground covered by all the chapters but we do not summarize and compare their experiences of reform. That task is reserved for the concluding article.