bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
American Regionalism and the United Nations
Authors: Gibson Carlos
Published: March 2007

American regionalism has phases through history which must be considered in relation to the United Nations. The Monroe Doctrine was first a unilateral policy of the United States to protect the American continent from European encroachment. Simón Bolivar, the leader of Latin-American independence, tried to form a loose federation of American States. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, there was held an Inter-American Congress, which institutionalized American regionalism by setting up the Pan-American Union. Thereafter, the concept of American regionalism was distorted into becoming a policy of unilateral enforcement by the United States, under the leadership of President Wilson, which continued until the Good Neighbor policy was initiated by President F. D. Roosevelt. For the first time, the policy of the United States, guided by Sumner Welles, made an effort to establish regionalism on the basis of equal partnership. As a result, Latin America, together with the United States, maintained, within the Charter of the United Nations, the principle of regionalism, despite opposition. In conclusion, regionalism is vital to achieving the more united world inevitable in view of the thrust of technological progress and an ever increasing world population.
The Norwegian Ombudsmen for Civil and Military Affairs
Authors: Thune Sverre
Published: March 2007

Since 1952, Norway has had an Ombudsman for Military Affairs who, assisted by a council of six members, deals with complaints against military authorities and supervises the treatment of military personnel. In 1963, the Ombudsman for Civil Affairs began to function. The reason for the establishment of these Ombudsmen was the steadily increasing influence of public administration on the citizen's rights and obligations. The judiciary's control of administration is time-consuming and costly, and it was considered desirable to let the "little man" have a control institution to which he could apply and which could simply and inexpensively examine his complaint. The Ombudsman must keep himself informed of conditions in administration, and can thus also take up matters on his own initiative. The Military Ombudsman handles about 350 complaints per year; the Civilian Ombudsman, about 1,000 complaints. Of the complaints which are taken up for examination by the Civilian Ombudsman, about 30 per cent are successful. It is generally agreed that the Ombudsmen come up to expectations concerning them, and there is no doubt that the institutions are now firmly established. Co-operation with administration has proceeded smoothly, and although the Ombudsmen cannot alter administrative decisions, nor order the agencies concerned to do so, administrative officials very rarely fail to comply with the Ombudsman's opinion.
An Ombudsman for Cities?
Authors: Zeidler Frank P.
Published: March 2007

The office of Ombudsman might have some useful functions in cities, but at present a great number of people, in paid and voluntary capacities, are meeting many of the functions of the Ombudsman in defending or pleading for people against the dicta of the bureaucracy. The office of Ombudsman would not be effective in many smaller cities because of the domination of small power groups in those cities. In the larger cities, the Ombudsman could have little effect in the face of the enormous problems and basic deficiencies of the cities. A great issue in political and social life in American cities is the effort of white and Negro separatists to discard democracy and to substitute a caste system based on separatism. If this effort succeeds, no Ombudsman at any level in American society can be effective, because future decisions will be based on what the castes demand of each other, and not on the principle of abstract justice for the individual.
"One Percent": The Problem of Economic Aid
Authors: Stepanov Lev
Published: March 2007

The suggestion that highly developed industrial states divert one percent of their gross national income or product to direly needed credits and subsidies for the developing countries is unsound. The developing countries' need for external financial support is caused by their unfavorable economic position in the international market and their low domestic capital-accumulation rate. Deteriorating terms of trade vis-àvis the Western states, high tariffs and other barriers hindering expansion of Third World exports to the West, and capital outflow to the West in the form of payments on private capital investments are conditions that have to be eliminated to improve the economic position of the developing countries. The "one percent" proposition is fallacious, in that it places socialist states on the same level as the Western capitalist states which, over decades of colonial rule, plundered the countries of the Third World. The West's responsibility to make good on those losses caused in the past as well as those caused today by the workings of the international capitalist mechanism cannot be limited to "one percent." In addition, the guaranteed "percentage" would conserve ineffective regimes in the Third World and their concomitant economic stagnation.
Information Systems and Inter-Organizational Space
Authors: Judge Anthony J.N.
Published: March 2007

It is currently impractical or uneconomic to maintain an up-to-date picture of who is doing what, where, and when. There is little systematically ordered information on the organizations and social structures active in all fields of human activity. Organizational space may therefore be said to be unmapped. This condition reinforces program isolationism and traditional forms of contact between organizations and disciplines at a time when social problems increasingly cross established jurisdictional boundaries. A worldwide information collection system is required which, to be viable, cannot be dependent on any central or over-all administration but which would facilitate interaction between groups which are currently isolated geographically or by specialization. The creation of such a system needs to be catalyzed rather than organized. The technique discussed in the article could well have important implications for communication across jurisdictional boundaries within governmental organizational structures. It raises no immediate technical problems. Information is not accessible until it has been processed into a form which highlights points of significance as defined by unknown users. A new medium is required to facilitate more intimate interaction between groups and disciplines which use and evaluate the same information in different ways. The technique of computer interactive graphics could be developed to provide the breakthrough needed to contain conceptually the recognized complexity of social processes.
The Practical Significance of Social Information
Authors: Drewnowski Jan
Published: March 2007

The need for social information is generally recognized, but actual information available is scarce and a great effort and a long time are required to make it complete. Two practical questions therefore arise: What kind of information on social matters is most urgently required, and why? This article tries to give answers to those questions. There are also two important problems in development which cannot be tackled in a satisfactory way without adequate social information: (1) meaningful assessment of development results, and (2) giving social content to development planning. The common practice of using economic variables for these purposes only confuses the issues. There is an urgent need to elaborate social indicators to be used instead. They fall into four classes: (1) indicators for the flow of welfare (level of living) ; (2) indicators for the state of welfare; (3) indicators for the welfare effect; and (4) indicators for the productivity effects of social factors. Out of these four classes it is the level-of-living indicators which are the crucial ones and, therefore, the methodology of their instruction is discussed in some detail—problems of quantification, scaling, allowing for distribution, and making them a part of a coherent system. A tentative list of level-of-living indicators is presented in conclusion.
Social Information and Government-Sponsored Development: A Case Study from West Pakistan
Authors: Shariff Zahid
Published: March 2007

Greater governmental participation in economic organization in the developing countries is increasingly an accomplished fact and, ostensibly, an irreversible trend. In Pakistan it is manifested by several governmental organizations; the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) has been selected to represent it for purposes of this study. To what extent are criteria based on social information ideas applicable to this new development? To answer this question, three dimensions of PIDC were chosen for study in some detail. The conclusions that emerge are complex and mixed. PIDC's performance and some of its programs certainly cannot be understood in terms of purely economic criteria. In particular, its location policy can be meaningfully evaluated on the basis of the social benefits it was formulated to generate. There exists, however, the need to proceed with caution and vigilance, for the danger of social information being used to justify waste cannot be entirely ignored.
Student Protest and University Response
Authors: Gusfield Joseph R.
Published: March 2007

Present student unrest and activism is not a clear product of student university tensions or of discontent with education. Such tensions are accentuated through stu dent involvement in non-university issues. The pattern of activism and violence among college and university students in many countries has also existed in the United States throughout much of its history, reinforced and sanctioned by the self-governing character of American higher education. Contemporary student activism is continuous with that tradi tion in its forms but differs profoundly in its political and national character. Most American universities, especially the large and public ones, are highly "under-administered" and thus are unable to form and execute policies toward issues raised by student action and toward that action itself. Administrators lack power and authority to lead faculty or students in the formation of institutional policy. The plural istic and leaderless character of American universities makes student protest a highly traumatic event, while student discipli nary action, in its present form, adumbrates internal campus tensions.
Campus Characteristics and Campus Unrest
Authors: Keniston Kenneth , Lerner Michael
Published: March 2007

The political and public controversy surround ing campus unrest has led to the widespread endorsement by politicians and many members of the general public of five propositions: 1. Campus protests are typically violent; 2. campus discipline is too permissive (or repressive); (3) higher education indoctrinates its students; 4. American campuses have been politicized; 5. student discontent with higher edu cation causes unrest. Examination of the by-now-extensive research data on campus protests indicates unequivocally that each of these propositions is false. A better understanding of the determinants of campus protest can be gained by study ing the manifest issues involved in these protests as they are selectively responded to by "protest-prone" students.
The Limitations of Revenue Sharing
Authors: Ulmer Melville J.
Published: March 2007

The allegation that all or most states and cities face a general financial crisis is not consistent with the facts. Special demographic conditions, which have since altered, account for the huge expansion of state and local expenditures during the 1960's. In addition, analysis of state budgets shows that the majority make inadequate use of the financial resources now at their command. Similar analysis also shows that substandard state and local services, where they prevail, are attributable in greater degree to an unwillingness to meet social obligations than to financial limitations. Revenue sharing provides no assurance that the funds will be used to remedy deficiencies in public services. Evidence suggests that much of it would be used for reducing state and local taxes or frittered away in frivolous expenditures or graft. The real financial, economic, and social problems in many states and cities may best be met by direct action: federalization of welfare, which would help the poor; the tax credit plan, which would encourage reform of regressive state and local tax structures; and more effective federal leadership and grants-in-aid, which would raise social standards and get money purposefully and directly to the cities.
The Youth Vote and Change in American Politics
Authors: Seagull Louis M.
Published: March 2007

The 18-to-21-year-old voters will have a sub stantial and fluctuating partisan impact at the polls, counter to the popular expectations that their voting rates will be minimal and their partisanship in the mold of their parents. This argument is based on the behavior and beliefs of college- educated youth, who currently constitute a considerable and growing minority of this recently enfranchised group. Evi dence of high voting participation by the current crop of recent college graduates as well as the strong independent but liberal identification on the part of contemporary college students point to sources of flexibility and change in Amer ican politics. It is not altogether clear whether the liberal and independent tendencies of college youth will dissipate with the traditional effects of aging or whether the outlook of this age group will maintain itself through time as did the Depression generation. In either case, the argument and evidence point to the possible emergence of an independent political majority in the American electorate in the near future.
Women's Liberation: Humanizing Rather Than Polarizing
Authors: Mandle Joan D.
Published: March 2007

An alliance of various groups of women drawn together under the umbrella of the women's liberation move ment has recently demanded full social equality. The pre cise content of their demand, however, remains vague due to the diversity of the groups involved. Some individuals and groups focus on problems associated with female personality development, while others concentrate on women's labor force marginality. Still other groups explore the sources of the dissatisfaction with home roles in evidence among increasing numbers of American women. This paper attempts to explore the social determinants of the inferior position of women in society, and briefly touch on the responses of the women's liberation movement to this unfavorable position. The as signment of women on the basis of sex to home-oriented and low-status adult roles is advanced as the basic source of these varied problems. The various demands for equality can therefore be seen as aspects of the more general goal—the elimination of this assigned and low-status role set.
Psychological Factors in International Persuasion
Authors: Tanaka Yasumasa
Published: March 2007

The basic assumption here is that laws that op erate in attitude organization and change are universal and least susceptible to contamination by language or culture. Some of the major theories relevant to persuasion are, there fore, presented to provide a universal frame of reference ac cording to which the act of persuasion can be examined, ana lyzed, and discussed. On the other hand, latent criteria used in making evaluative judgments may vary from one individual to another and, to a greater extent, from one culture to another. Hence there are basic difficulties in cross-cultural communica tion. To overcome these difficulties, a three-step strategy of cross-cultural communication is proposed, which involves (1) a comprehensive—that is, both quantitative and qualitative— analysis of attitude components present in a target population, (2) systematic use of a multi-channel, multi-step flow of com munication, and (3) an application of C. E. Osgood's "GRIT" strategy for intercultural persuasion, in which communication is more by deeds than by words.
The Future of International Broadcasting
Authors: Ronalds Francis S.
Published: March 2007

The amount of international broadcasting car ried on by government, public/private, religious, commercial, and clandestine stations has been growing steadily since the war and has now reached 16,000 hours per week. There is little prospect, during this decade and the next, for direct television or radio broadcasting via satellite, but current and planned con struction of short- and medium-wave transmitters for use in the game of international broadcasting indicates that the stakes are going up and all the players hope to win. Whereas domestic television may be cutting down on nighttime listening in the urban areas of Europe and the Americas, the population explo sion and rapid rise in the production of transistor radios promise an even larger audience and greater influence for international radio in the foreseeable future.
Selling Uncle Sam in the Seventies
Authors: Sparks Kenneth R.
Published: March 2007

The United States propaganda machine needs overhauling. Parts remain spread throughout the government. Its chief component, the U.S. Information Agency, lacks agree ment on purpose, often operates on questionable assumptions regarding the effects of communication, and tends to be removed from policy. Official propaganda faces an increasingly uphill battle. Our propagandists are usually not in control of the media and other institutions which make large-scale persuasive communication possible. In those countries where such control can be achieved, U.S. interests are often minimal. Nongovern mental channels of communication are and will remain the chief source of information about America. They will shape foreign attitudes about the United States and its policies. Official efforts should concentrate on promoting private media products, supplementing them where necessary. Reorganization would help the propagandists play their proper role in foreign policy formulation and implementation.
Costs and Quality of Care in Different Types of Hospitals
Authors: Neuhauser Duncan , Turcotte Fernand
Published: March 2007

American hospitals vary by type of ownership, type of patient treated, average length of stay, size, scope of services offered and teaching programs. This paper re views what is known about how these differences are related to costs and quality of care. The range of costs per case varies widely by type of hospital and size of hospital. Larger general hospitals have lower unit costs, while specialty and teaching hospitals, large or small, have higher costs than general hos pitals. Studies are needed to answer many questions about costs of hospitals, standardizing for case mix, quality of care, ownership, and organization.
Factors Associated with the Increasing Cost of Hospital Care
Authors: Andersen Ronald , May J. Joel
Published: March 2007

In the last two decades, and particularly in the last five years, the cost of hospital care has risen more rapidly than the cost of almost any other major good or service pro vided in our society. The result has been great concern among the public, government, and providers of service. The rising total cost of hospital care is due both to the increasing use of hospital services and to the increasing cost per unit of these services. In the last ten years, use of services has accounted for less than one-eighth of the total increase in hospital costs, cost per unit increases being responsible for the rest. The latter increases can be shown to result from general inflationary trends in the economy plus certain forces acting in a special way on hospitals. These forces include an increase in wages, a rise in the value of hospital plant and equipment over and above general inflation, and a larger number of personnel in relation to the days of patient care provided, or patient days. A review of reasons for the increases in cost per unit of service suggests that there is no single factor primarily responsible. Consequently, a solution to the cost containment problem will be difficult to achieve.
Medicare and Medicaid
Authors: Newman Howard N.
Published: March 2007

Both Medicare and Medicaid so expanded in scope all previous programs that they constituted a new kind of federal commitment in the health care financing field. Both programs were expected to operate within the existing health care system; but with no provision for expanded supply of services, these programs helped contribute to a rapid rise in the cost of the various health care services. In terms of future developments, Medicare and Medicaid and any successor pro grams must show an increasing concern for improving the sys tem of providing health care. One possible direction of change is that involved with a health maintenance organization (HMO), the designation for a group paid to provide health services to an enrolled "population" on a prepaid per capita basis, such as has been tried in some states with Medicaid. Whatever the future form of federal involvement, programs must be concerned with both the financing and the provision of health services on an adequate scale.
Pluralism and the Administrative Process
Authors: Auerbach Carl A.
Published: March 2007

Criticism of the administrative process continues to be more cogent than proposed reforms. Some charge that the malaise afflicting agencies is fundamental because it is the inevitable consequence of the dominant pluralistic philosophy. According to Theodore J. Lowi, this philosophy erodes public authority by asking government merely to ratify bargains struck by competing interest groups. Lowi's principal "radical reform" is a quixotic call for the revival of the doctrine that it is unconstitutional to delegate law-making powers to agencies without meaningful legislative standards to circumscribe them. Proponents of participatory democracy charge that agencies satisfy claims of strongly organized groups but not of the weakly organized or unorganized. But participatory democ racy is not a panacea and would produce injustices of its own. Probably never before in our history has legal policy been so supportive of the rights of individuals and groups affected by administrative action to be heard and to influence the action taken. Agencies must be receptive to this participatory policy. But they are not umpires or mediators and must be prepared to make conscious value choices in the light of the fullest avail able knowledge and to defend their choices in the name of jus tice.
Independent Regulatory Agencies: A Perspective on Their Reform
Authors: Bernstein Marver H.
Published: March 2007

Since 1937, five major governmental studies have analyzed the problems of independent regulatory commissions in the government and have prescribed reforms. The Presi dent's Committee on Administrative Management (1937) pro posed the departmentalization of independent commissions. The First Hoover Commission (1949) relied heavily on vesting responsibility in the chairmen. The Second Hoover Commis sion (1955) dealt almost entirely with improving internal pro cedures and separating the functions of prosecuting and deci sion-making. The Landis Report (1960) stressed the need to appoint better qualified commissioners. In 1971, the Presi dent's Advisory Council on Executive Organization (Ash Coun cil) criticized their multiheaded direction, the judicial cast of their activities, and the misalignment of certain functional re sponsibilities. These several reports, however, failed to deal with regulatory programs in the departments. It is important to focus on such factors as soundness of objectives, quality of leadership and professional staffing, influence of regulated groups on agency regulation, relation of rulemaking to adjudi cation, and the experience of departmental programs. The greatest need is to focus attention on strategies likely to be useful in achieving public purposes.
Insurance Regulation: Current Issues and Problems
Authors: Stewart Richard E.
Published: March 2007

State regulation of the insurance business is one of this country's oldest regulatory systems. While its current issues are constantly changing, a few themes recur through the system's history—an emphasis on avoiding insolvencies, the reactions of many states to economic and regulatory im perialism from the east, an ambivalence toward competition and market innovation, and the economic and political impact of the independent insurance agent. Today the major issues in insurance regulation concern the insurance market (in cluding questions of the availability, quality, and price of coverage), the relationship of the insurance business to the rest of the economy (including questions of diversification and holding companies), and intergovernmental relations (national/ state and interstate). For reasons discernible today, it is likely that in the future the regulators will concern themselves more with the underlying causes of problems, will go more to fundamentals, and will look more to the interests of the public outside the traditionally closed relationship between regulator and regulated.
Regulation of Medical Devices
Authors: Spivak Jonathan M.
Published: March 2007

The regulation of medical devices presents unique difficulties because of the breadth and complexity of the industry. Experts agree that increased federal control is essential to adequately protect the public, because of the serious loopholes in the Food and Drug Administration's cur rent premarketing controls. Over the years, a wide range of proposals for device legislation have been presented to Con gress, but none have gained any appreciable support from the lawmakers. The opposition of industry has been a major deterrent. Recent federal court decisions have strengthened FDA's hand in regulating devices under existing law and have lessened the manufacturers' objections to new legislation. Within this changed political framework, a consensus is developing in the Administration and on Capitol Hill for a new approach to device legislation, delegating many of the key decisions to non-government advisory groups. These groups would determine which devices needed premarketing clearance and what standards of safety and efficacy should apply. But it remains to be seen whether such substantial delegation of federal authority to non-government groups can be achieved without eroding the basic objective: consumer protection.
The Cable Question : Evolution or Revolution in Electronic Mass Communications
Authors: Le Duc Don R.
Published: March 2007

The federal broadcast regulatory structure has rested for almost a half century on one central base of author ity, the frequency license privilege furnishing both the con stitutional justification and administrative control essential for exercise of governmental supervision. Cable television marked the first serious challenge to this traditional founda tion, its wired, audience-supported program delivery technique threatening the dissemination monopoly necessary for con tinued broadcast station operation and thus for continued supervision by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has been successful in restricting cable to an auxil iary broadcast service function, denying it the television signals necessary for major market penetration. Yet, despite commission hostility, cable appears far more a symptom than a cause of broadcast delivery problems, and only a portent of future multi-channel systems. This historical overview is de signed to isolate a pattern of conduct over an extended period of time which may reveal internal bias, impairing the objec tivity of the commission when evaluating such communication challenge. To the extent that the FCC may be predisposed to protect its established system at all cost, that cost may be too high to be acceptable in terms of vital service denied the public.
Trade, Skills, and Sympathy: The First Century and a Half of Commerce with the Near East
Authors: Field James A.
Published: March 2007

The first American contacts with the Near East resulted from the new nation's need for profitable foreign commerce. Loss of ships to Mediterranean pirates brought the founding of the navy and a war with Tripoli; hopes for the expansion of trade led in 1830 to a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire. But these commercial hopes were largely disappointed : over the next hundred years the rela tive importance of the Levant trade diminished; more signifi cant than the export of American products was that of mis sionary benevolence and of modernizing skills. Nevertheless, the commercial and evangelical connection gave rise to a con tinuing, if marginal, public and private interest in the region, as did the American concern for the principles of independence and self-determination. The results were paradoxical, as popular sympathy and the efforts of individuals worked both to uphold the Ottoman Empire against European pressures and to support minorities resistant to Ottoman rule. At times, as during the Greek war for independence, this support of minorities ran against commercial interests; at times, as in the Armenian question, it threatened political involvement; by the mid-twentieth century, with the increased impor tance of oil and the establishment of the State of Israel, both consequences were apparent.
American Educational and Missionary Efforts in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Authors: Dodge Bayard
Published: March 2007

In 1810 the American Board Mission was founded. Nine years later two missionaries were sent to the Middle East. They were followed by many men and women who devoted themselves to evangelism in the Ottoman Empire and later in Iran. Because the Ottoman government did not permit them to proselytize Muslims, and the Catholics objected to any form of interference, their work was principally with the Greek Orthodox, Armenians, and Nestorians. In 1850 the Ottoman government authorized the establishment of an evan gelical "millet," or sect; so Protestant churches were built and congregations organized.

During the middle of the nineteenth century, the mission aries also established many high schools, as well as ten or a dozen colleges. Because of the war and political disturbances, some of the colleges have been obliged to transfer to new localities, or else to close down. Robert College and the Constantinople Woman's College at Istanbul, the American University of Beirut, and the American University in Cairo have grown to be large institutions, still active and useful. These schools, colleges, and universities have been influential in creating constructive contacts between the peoples of the Middle East and of America.
Middle Eastern Oil since the Second World War
Authors: Barger Thomas C.
Published: March 2007

The Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa together with Iran now produce nearly two-thirds of the oil in world trade. Even more importantly, they pos sess some three-fourths of the total world reserves outside the communist countries. Western Europe and Japan depend on this oil for an ever increasing proportion of their energy re quirements, and no substitute source of energy that will diminish this dependence significantly in the foreseeable future is now apparent. In the next ten years the United States must also begin to depend on the Middle East for a substantial portion of its oil requirements. The returns from oil to the governments of the oil-producing countries have changed and continue to change all aspects of life in these countries including their relationships with each other and with the rest of the world.
Multinational Corporations, Managers, and the Development of Regional Identifications in Western Europe
Authors: Mennis Bernard , Sauvant Karl P.
Published: March 2007

The increasing multinationality of corporations results in more managers having work responsibilities that are internationally oriented. This fact has important implications for regional integration because managers with an international work orientation—versus domestic managers—tend to believe that their well-being is highly dependent upon developments outside their home country and that they stand to benefit from increased integration. This means, in turn, that they tend to be less nationally involved and also express favorable attitudes regarding economic integration in Western Europe. Such managers also disproportionately recommend integrative corporate policies for their company regarding personnel, marketing, and finance questions. Finally, these same international managers exhibit greater career success.
Industrial Integration and the Multinational Enterprise
Authors: Behrman Jack N.
Published: March 2007

A major objective of economic policies among nations is to achieve industrial development in ways which not only accelerate national industrial integration, but also integrate regional and international economies. The new phenomenon of the multinational enterprise, and the resulting international production, is a means of gaining industrial integration. But the resulting pattern of production and trade is not likely to be that which would have arisen with free trade under classical assumptions. At the national level, the multinational enterprise (ME) can respond to inducements to locate in "depressed" areas, helping to integrate the economy. Regionally, it is more responsive to policies directed at integration among members than are most local companies, and it has in fact been a catalyst for integration in the European Common Market, though it has not been permitted to be such in the Central American Common Market or in the Latin American Free Trade Association. At the international level, it is already integrating the advanced economies, but the pattern of industrial integration between the advanced and developing countries leaves much to be desired, partly because the MEs are not being used effectively. In addition, some restrictions are imposed by states, not so much because of the fact that the firm is "foreign," but because it will not necessarily produce the kind of integration sought by host countries. If governments moved to cause the multinational enterprise to support objectives of industrial integration at all levels—national, regional, and international—it would become a more acceptable addition to Western economic institutions. To achieve this, new governmental guidelines are necessary.
Is There an Energy Crisis? An Overview
Authors: Freeman S. David
Published: March 2007

This country is not yet involved in an energy crisis of paralyzing proportions; nor is such a crisis inevitable. Yet, we have been drifting into "crisis country," and shortages will worsen if the nation does not face the fact that its energy budget is very much out of balance. Our national energy policies—inherited from an era of carefree abundance—call for promotion, growth and lavish use of energy. These policies are outmoded. In simple terms, our predicament today is that we are making less, but using more, energy. In order to avoid an energy breakdown, we must face disagreeable facts, abandon old habits and make the difficult choices in volved in shaping new policies. To make overall sense, energy decisions should be measured against some basic social goals upon which most of us can agree: (1) adequate supplies; (2) protecting the environment; (3) keeping prices reasonable; and (4) avoiding foreign policy problems. While imported oil can serve as a stopgap solution for our immediate energy problems, we cannot expect to continue raising the scale of our imports to match spendthrift demands indefi nitely. In the long run, the course which will best serve the important goals of energy policy is one that will attack the waste in our energy consumption and slow down growth. At the same time, it is essential that we mount the urgently needed effort for research and development of new, cleaner and more abundant energy sources.
Electric Utilities: Can They Meet Future Power Needs?
Authors: Allen Howard P.
Published: March 2007

The electric industry is the largest single in dustry in the United States in terms of plant and equipment. Use of electric energy by residential, commercial and indus trial consumers has been increasing steadily over the years, and the industry has met this demand in an economic and reliable manner. Recently, the nation's concern for environ mental quality has affected adversely the ability of the electric industry to provide an abundant, low cost supply of elec tricity. Clean-burning fossil fuels for existing electric generat ing stations are becoming increasingly difficult, and more costly, to obtain. Construction of new facilities, particularly nuclear plants, is being blocked and delayed. Power com panies, now, are prudently urging the conservation of elec tricity, as well as developing emergency procedures to contain possible power shortages. In the meantime, a clearly defined national energy policy must be developed to guide and correlate the actions and objectives of single-interest groups and agencies toward a common goal of meeting the dual demands for environmental quality and an adequate, reliable supply of electricity. Short term and long term goals must be distinguished: (1) to head-off the pending elec trical shortage which appears imminent in some parts of the country during the latter part of the '70s; and (2) to insure the nation's ability to supply environmentally acceptable energy needs for the future.
The Challenge to State Regulation Agencies: The Experience of New York State
Authors: Swidler Joseph C.
Published: March 2007

The Constitution and the nature of the energy market require the federal government to take the lead in resolving this nation's fuel supply problems; however, there is much that the states can do to help resolve the energy crisis. The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) has established restrictions on gas use and a load shedding program. New York's recent pioneering legislation for one-stop siting of major power plants and transmission lines should help ensure the construction of needed power facilities which are located and designed for minimum adverse environmental impact. The PSC and other agencies in New York are helping the promotion of energy conserva tion and energy efficiency not only in the conversion of fuels to electric power, but also through improved building design, appliances and transportation. Finally, New York is promoting increased research and development which has been undertaken by the utilities, the federal government and the state, itself. State and federal energy programs will require new interdisciplinary approaches which transcend traditional regulatory processes to achieve the needed balance of our energy, environmental, economic, security and other significant social objectives.
Interest Groups in Sweden
Authors: Elvander Nils
Published: March 2007

Sweden has perhaps the strongest system of interest groups in the world. All important groups belong to a few peak organizations with a very high membership percentage. This system, developed continuously from the end of the nineteenth century, is characterized by bargain ing among organizations and the institutionalization of their political influence. The peak associations are highly central ized with a hierarchical power structure, which has caused problems of internal democracy. Their political influence is based mainly on economic and personal resources and on their position in the decision-making process. Influence is exerted through various channels, ranging from informal contacts with decision makers to public propaganda campaigns. The latter, however, seem less effective than information based upon facts. Group influence is expressed mainly in the preparatory stages—through representation on investigative commis sions and so-called remiss comments on commission reports—and at the executive stage in the agencies. The least significant target is Parliament, although contacts are maintained with the parliamentary groups of the parties. The only association having intimate organizational and ideological links with a party is the Swedish Federation of Trade Unions (LO), which has the strongest influence of all groups, because of its large membership and ties with the ruling Social-Democratic Party. The other associations have all declared their political neutrality, but this is not to say that they do not take a position on controversial political issues. Thus, the Central Association of Salaried Employees (TCO) has increased its influence considerably since World War II by taking an active part in such issues.
Interest Groups in Switzerland
Authors: Sidjanski Dusan
Published: March 2007

This article is a general presentation of Swiss socioeconomic groups and associations and of the role they play in Swiss political life. While the main organizations were created before 1900, the evolution of the associations corre sponds to the general trends of industrialization and division of labor. Swiss groups are characterized by a high concentra tion of their central bodies in Zurich and Berne and by federal structures reproducing the cantonal divisions of Switzerland. Consultation, based on constitutional provisions, is highly developed not only in internal politics, but also in foreign policy matters. One specific feature of this process is the existence of both the referendum and the initiative which constitute an element of the bargaining power of different associations. To illustrate this process, I draw on two ex amples : one related to the law on cartels and the other to the inflation policy. The last, but not the least interesting, aspect is the perception of this process by the public. In fact, our Swiss survey of 1972 gives a good idea of how the public perceives the influence of different groups and their capacity to defend its interests. It is clear that if the legitimacy of these associations and their activities is generally recognized, the Swiss voter condemns all violent forms of action and is reluc tant even to approve demonstrations. On the other hand, normal activities of socioeconomic groups are supported by a large consensus.
Soviet-American Economic Cooperation: Recent Development, Prospects and Problems
Authors: Ivanov Ivan D.
Published: March 2007

The summit meetings between Secretary General Leonid I. Breznev and President Richard M. Nixon, inter alia, broke the economic isolation which existed be tween the USSR and the USA. The turnover in trade rose to $642 million in 1972 and to approximately $1.5 billion in 1973. This growth in trade reflects, without doubt, the economic potentialities of, as well as the wide scope for, mutual eco nomic complementarity between the two countries. Interest ing joint undertakings are already in sight. Yet, the primary problem of the future is the normalization of trade policy. The USSR cannot afford to pay a political price for normalization of trade. The fact that the USSR has not been extended most favored nation (MFN) treatment and difficulties in credit ar rangements through Eximbank have put the Soviet Union in an inferior position in the United States market. Should this situation continue long enough, adjustments to real market conditions will appear to be necessary in US-USSR trade and the lend-lease package.
Arms Control and Disarmament: A View from the USA
Authors: Shulman Marshall D.
Published: March 2007

While the interests of the United States and the Soviet Union are in many respects competitive, they do overlap in one important respect: namely, the avoidance of nuclear war. Yet, the fact is that despite the strategic arms limitation talks (SALT), the competition in strategic weapons continues and may even be exacerbated by these negotiations. For numerous and varied reasons—which are discussed—we have reached the point at which both countries are acquiring war-fighting capabilities. The crisis can be offset only if people take the trouble to study, to learn and to seek to understand the problems and, then, to make their voices heard.
The USSR and Security in Europe: A Soviet View
Authors: Bykov Vladimir L.
Published: March 2007

During the Soviet-American summit meetings of 1972 and 1973, the two governments expressed their desire to contribute to the reinforcement of peace in Europe. Behind this sentiment—which at first sight may seem to be a stereotyped diplomatic formula, as presented in the concluding communiques of both summits—lies a turning point of great historic significance. For the first time in the twenty-seven years of the postwar period of international relations the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the possibility of, and need for, joint efforts in building a stable European peace. Such agreement would have been inconceivable in the not too distant past, when the Cold War completely held sway. Having crossed this line, the two countries cannot but be aware of the responsibility stem ming from their actions. Any retreat would not only tell negatively on the fundamental interests of the two nations, but would also darken the prospects for an all-European settlement. The normalization process of Soviet-American relations affects many problems of a global and local nature, including those which have no direct connection with Europe. However, the Soviet Union proceeds from the firm belief—confirmed by the harsh lessons of recent history—that the ensurance of lasting security and peaceful cooperation among European countries with different social systems is the core of detente. Europe was the scene of the most bitter and destructive wars ever known to humankind; it is this same Europe which can now emerge as an example of the success of peaceful coexistence.
Reforming Private Pensions
Authors: Cummings Frank
Published: March 2007

As the recent report of the Senate Labor Subcommittee indicates, some new, comprehensive and humane rethinking of our overall approach to private pensions is clearly needed. Controversy over the reform of pension plans has focused on vesting, funding, fiduciary standards and the prohibition of unethical conduct and conflicts of interest in the handling of pension funds. In the first section of this paper these issues are discussed in terms of the current situation: the dimensions of the pension industry, the current legal framework within which the industry operates and the techniques of the professionals in the field are analyzed. The issues are then discussed in terms of the proposed pension reform bill, which is pending before a Senate-House conference committee. A legislative assessment of the bill concludes the paper.
Old Age Associations in National Politics
Authors: Pratt Henry J.
Published: March 2007

The past decade has seen an unprecedented outpouring of federal laws, executive orders and new appropriations intended to benefit the elderly. A frequently overlooked, but quite significant, factor in this development has been the increased organized activity on the part of senior citizens themselves. In marked contrast to the old age groups of an earlier period, the elderly in recent years have coalesced behind groups with a high level of political rationality and internal organizational discipline. While aging groups are of various types and seek to fill a variety of functions, there is reason to focus on one category—the mass-membership organization—as especially important in helping to give shape and focus to widespread latent sentiments in the old age population. The rather striking success of three such groups—the American Association of Retired Persons-National Retired Teachers Association, the National Council of Senior Citizens and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees—can be analyzed in terms of their having found sources of income outside member dues, having created bureaucracies re cruited on the basis of performance criteria rather than charisma and having capitalized effectively on the emergence in recent years of a more benign climate for old age activity. By combining these criteria the groups consid ered appear capable both of insuring their own organiza tional survival and of continuing to exert an influence on federal policy makers.