bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COX-2 activity determines the level of renin expression but is dispensable for acute upregulation of renin expression in rat kidneys
Authors: Matzdorf Corina , Kurtz A. , Höcherl Klaus
Published: March 2007

The role of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the control of renin is still a matter of debate, since studies with COX-2-deficient mice or with COX-2 inhibitors produced conflicting findings. Therefore, we studied the effect of the COX-2 inhibitor SC-58236 on the regulation of the renin system in adult rat kidneys. Renocortical tissue levels and urinary excretion of PGE2were reduced to 65 and 40% of control values, respectively, after a single gavage of SC-58236 and did not further decrease on prolonged treatment. Plasma renin activity (PRA) and renin mRNA levels began to decrease after 3 days and reached a constant level of ∼60% of control values after 5 days of treatment. Isoproterenol or left renal artery clipping for 2 days increased PRA and renin mRNA to similar levels in both vehicle- and SC-58236-treated rats after 2 days. Pretreatment with SC-58236 for 5 days, however, reduced the absolute increase in PRA and renin mRNA levels. Notably, the relative increases were not different between vehicle- and SC-58236-treated rats. Similar findings were observed for the stimulation of the renin system by angiotensin II inhibition and low salt intake. These findings indicate that COX-2 inhibition attenuates renin secretion and renin gene expression stimulated by a variety of parameters in proportion to the lowering of basal renin activity, while it does not interfere with the different stimulatory mechanism per se. As a consequence, it appears as if COX-2 activity relevantly determines the set point of the activity of the renin system in rat kidneys.
Congenital Melanocytic Nevus: An Epidemiologic Study in Italy
Authors: Ingordo Vito , Gentile Ciro , Iannazzone Silvia S. , Cusano Francesco , Naldi Luigi
Published: March 2007

Background: The prevalence of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) among newborns ranges between 0.2 and 6% in the worldwide literature. In the only available study from Italy the rate was 1% at birth and 1.4% at 2 years of age. Some surveys performed among samples of children and adolescents in other countries showed a prevalence which ranged from 1.4 to 4.4%. Additional data on the frequency in adults are not available. Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of CMN in a large sample of a young male Italian population, which is deemed to be representative of the general population of the same age and sex. Methods: The potential conscripts resident in the coastal regions of southern Italy, enlisted for the compulsory service in the Italian Navy, were called at the age of 18 to the Draft’s Council Medical Unit of the Italian Navy in Taranto to evaluate their psychophysical fitness to recruitment. All the subjects examined from September 2002 to March 2004 showing skin lesions evocative of CMN were referred by general practitioners of the Draft’s Council Medical Unit to the Department of Dermatology of the Italian Navy Hospital for confirming the diagnosis, which was based on the clinical features and the personal history. The confirmed cases were recorded in a predefined patient card, containing the main anamnestic and clinical data. Since the screening of small CMN in such a large sample of subjects was believed to be difficult, only CMN with a diameter ≧1.5 cm were recorded. Results: In 23,354 examined persons 157 CMN were diagnosed, with a prevalence of 0.67% (Bayesian 95% confidence interval 0.57–0.79); 126 (80.3%) CMN were medium-sized (≧1.5 and ≤19.9 cm in diameter), and 31 (19.7%) were large (≧20 cm in diameter). Three CMN (1.9%) were located on the face, 23 (14.6%) on the chest, 24 (15.2%) on the abdomen, 36 (22.9%) on the back, 48 (30.5%) on the lumbar area, 15 (9.5%) on the upper limb, 19 (12.1%) on the lower limb and 15 (9.5%) on the shoulder. No CMN was located on the head. In 19 cases (12.1%) ≧2 adjacent anatomical sites (shoulder/chest, shoulder/arm, etc.) were involved. In 73 moles (46.4%) terminal hairs were present. Eight CMN (5.1%) showed a zosteriform (i.e. segmental) feature. None of the examined subjects reported a personal history of malignant melanoma (MM), and no person with a history of MM was observed among all the enlisted men referred to the Department of Dermatology during the time of the study. Conclusion: The prevalence of CMN in the Italian young male general population is roughly in agreement with the rates detected in general populations from other European studies. The observations of this study also suggest that the risk of appearance of MM, at least in childhood and adolescence, is limited for medium-sized CMN.
Severe Hypoinsulinaemic Hypoglycaemia in a Premature Infant Associated with Poor Weight Gain and Reduced Adipose Tissue
Authors: Coelho Raquel , Wells Jonathan , Symth John , Semple Robert , O'Rahilly Stephen , Eaton Simon , Hussain Khalid
Published: March 2007

Background: Hypoglycaemia is common in preterm and intrauterine growth retarded (IUGR) newborns. Although preterm and IUGR infants have limited adipose tissue stores, the role of adipose tissue and the associated adipocytokines in glucose physiology is not known. Aim: We report the case of a premature intrauterine growth retarded infant who had poor weight gain for the first 6 weeks of life and then developed severe hypoinsulinaemic hypoketotic hypoglycaemia. Results: There was markedly reduced adiposity with low serum leptin and adiponectin levels. Total energy expenditure and body composition measurements showed that body fat as a percentage of weight averaged 7% at 20 weeks and 28% at 28 weeks. At 20 weeks of age, the patient was equivalent to a deficit of >2 SD scores of body fat, but average fatness by 28 weeks. The hypoglycaemia completely resolved when the patient started gaining weight with an increase in fat mass and a concomitant increase in serum leptin and adiponectin level. Conclusions: Although the precise mechanism of this patient’s severe hypoglycaemia is unclear, further studies are required to understand the role of adipose tissue and adipocytokines in glucose homeostasis in preterm and IUGR infants.
Epithelial MMP-2 Expression Correlates with Worse Prognosis in Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Juuti Anne , Lundin Johan , Nordling Stig , Louhimo Johanna , Haglund Caj
Published: March 2007

Objective: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade extracellular matrix and are involved in tumor invasion and metastasis in various cancers. In pancreatic cancer, MMP-2 expression is upregulated and correlates with tumor recurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of MMP-2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Methods: MMP-2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 127 patients operated on at Helsinki University Hospital from 1974 to 1998, with expression interpreted separately in epithelial and stromal samples. Results: Epithelial MMP-2 expression was strong in 5%, moderate in 20%, weak in 25% and negative in 50% of the tumors, with high epithelial MMP-2 expression significantly associated in univariate survival analysis with advanced stage, poor grade and poor survival. Stromal MMP-2 expression was strong in 0%, moderate in 14%, weak in 70% and negative in 16% of the cases, and did not significantly correlate with patient survival. Conclusion: Epithelial MMP-2 correlates with advanced tumor stage and grade, but is not an independent predictor of survival.
Identification of VDR-Responsive Gene Signatures in Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Towsend Kelly , Trevino Victor , Falciani Francesco , Stewart Paul M. , Hewison Martin , Campbell Moray J.
Published: March 2007

Objectives: Defining transcriptional profiles which predict cancer cell anti-proliferative responsiveness towards 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1α,25(OH)2D3] is required to improve and tailor the chemotherapeutic application of this seco-steroid hormone to individual cancer patients. Methods: We undertook a transcriptomic approach with Affymetrix human U133 GeneChips to determine responsive and resistant gene signatures in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and 1α,25(OH)2D3-resistant MCF-7Res cells, respectively. Principal component and hierarchical clustering analyses demonstrated that the patterns of responsiveness between the 2 cell types differed clearly and were used to generate heat maps. Differentially regulated gene targets were validated with Q-RT-PCR and the biological impact upon proliferation measured. Results: In untreated MCF-7Res cells, 163 genes were up-regulated and 274 down-regulated (with a log2 ratio of >0.5) compared to the MCF-7 controls. Using the same gene expression threshold, 1α,25(OH)2D3 treatment (100 nM, 6 h) of MCF-7 cells up-regulated 91 genes and down-regulated 5, whereas in MCF-7Res, despite their resistance to the anti-proliferative effects, 156 genes were modulated with 91 being down-regulated. Strikingly, CYP24 was the only induced gene that was common to the genetic profiles of the 2 sets of 1α,25(OH)2D3-treated cells. Heat map analyses defined 2 sub-clusters of genes: (1) basal expression patterns associated with insensitivity towards 1α,25(OH)2D3 and (2) regulated expression patterns associated with 1α,25(OH)2D3 sensitivity. This latter cluster contained BAX, GADD45α, IGFBP-3, EGFR, MAPK4 and TGF-β2. Time course studies confirmed the 1α,25(OH)2D3 regulation of TGF-β2 in MCF-7 and non-tumourigenic MCF-12A cells but not in MCF-7Res cells. Co-treatment of MCF-7Res cells with exogenous TGF-β2 plus 1α,25(OH)2D3 enhanced anti-proliferative and vitamin D receptor transcriptional effects. Conclusions: Basal and regulated gene patterns can be used to predict and monitor the cellular response towards vitamin D3 compounds and may possibly be applied as a further diagnostic tool.
Simultaneous Measurement of Condensation and Thermal Accommodation Coefficients for Cloud Droplet Growth in Due Consideration of a New Moving Surface-Boundary Effect
Authors: Fukuta Norihiko , Myers Marcus N.
Published: March 2007

A droplet growth theory that describes a new effect of vapor and temperature field shift due to the growth-based movement of droplet surface boundary (moving boundary effect) was derived and found to enhance the growth rate as a function of supersaturation (S − 1) and droplet radius (a) in second order. The theory plays the role of a missing link and resolves the gap that exists among the measured data; the high (S − 1) used was found to overestimate thermal accommodation and condensation coefficients, α and β. The theory provided the basis for bettering the measurement and correction for data analyzed without the moving boundary effect, and suggested the broadening effect in the droplet size spectrum by accelerating the growth on the larger end together with the growth slowdown effect of α, β on the smaller.

Measurements employing a horizontal-flow thermal diffusion chamber and the Mie scattering method using a He–Ne laser for droplet size estimation at temperature T = 277 K, (S − 1) = 0.32%, a ≈ 2 μm under two pressures of modulation, p = 100 and 860 hPa, with correction of the moving boundary effect for nuclei of NaCl and (NH4)2SO4, resulted in the simultaneous determination of α = 0.81 ± 0.07 and β = 0.043 ± 0.016 on average. For paper smoke, α = 0.68 and β = 0.022. Comparison with other data of the low moving boundary effect suggests a slight β increase with temperature lowering. Based on the result of the present measurement and other theoretical and experimental works, the mechanism of β being much smaller than α was suggested mostly as a kinetic process controlled by the removal rate of the released latent heat at the moment of molecular impact on the surface and vice versa for evaporation.
Preparation and PH Responsive Behavior of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)— Chitosan—Poly(Acrylic acid) Full-IPN Hydrogels
Authors: Ji Zhang  , Kun Yuan  , Wang Yun-Pu , Zhang Shen-Tang , Ji Zhang
Published: March 2007

A full-interpenetrating polymer network (Full-IPN) hydrogel based on poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan/poly(acrylic acid) by the simultaneous-IPN method was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR and scanning electron microscopy. By varying the composition, different gels with different swelling dynamics, pH behavior and shrinking behavior of the gels were obtained. All the hydrogels swelled and reached equilibrium within five hours, indicating that the hydrogels have fast swelling properties and a relatively high swelling ratio (SR). Increasing the hydrophilic PAA in the full-IPN hydrogels increased the SR. The introduction of PVA and CTS to the full-IPN enhanced the hydrogel's biocompatibility. The poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan/poly(acrylic acid) full-IPN hydrogels exhibited a swelling change in response to pH of the swelling medium, and could be useful a potential modulation systems in biomedical fields.
Polymerization Kinetics of Poly(amidoamine)s in Different Solvents
Authors: Manfredi Amedea , Ranucci Elisabetta , Suardi Marco , Ferruti Paolo
Published: March 2007

The polyaddition kinetics of 2-methylpiperazine to 1,4-bisacryloylpiperazine was determined in water, methanol, ethylene glycol, formamide, and dimethylformamide, respectively. In the protic solvents, the polyaddition proceeded through a two-step mechanism, each step involved one of the two different secondary amino groups; the difference in amine reactivity was ascribed to the different steric hindrance by the neighbouring groups. Each step followed pseudo-second-order kinetics; the kinetic constants included the catalytic protonic species. In the case of dimethylformamide, the polyaddition proceeded through third-order kinetics; this accounted for the autocatalytic activity of the amino groups. The apparent kinetic constants in the protic solvents increased with the increase in the autoprotolysis constant values and decreased with the increase of the dipole moment.
Quartz Crystal Microbalance Study of Protein Adsorption on Chitosan, Chitosan/Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) Blends and Chitosan-graft-Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) Surfaces
Authors: Xinhua Xu  , Chunhuai Zhang  , Yumei Zhou  , Qiang Liu Juan Cheng  , Kangde Yao  , Qiang Chen
Published: March 2007

Adsorption behaviour of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto chitosan (CS), chitosan/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) blends (CS/PVP blends), and chitosan- graft-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (CS- graft-PVP) surfaces were investigated using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The adsorbed quantities of protein on the three surfaces were examined and were found to decrease in the following order: CS > CS/PVP blends > CS- graft-PVP. The kinetics of BSA adsorption in the early stage was analysed. The Langmuir isotherm model was used to describe the BSA adsorption behaviour on CS and its derivates. The attachment, detachment rate constants, and the association constants ( Ka ) were of the same order of magnitude, whereas the Ka for BSA on CS- graft-PVP surface was the lowest of the three surfaces. The adsorbed protein layer structure was also estimated. For CS- graft -PVP, most of the proteins adsorbed on the surface were of side-on structure, whereas for CS only about 40% of the proteins were of side-on structure.
Examining the Value for Money of Deals Under the Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership
Authors: Colman Jeremy
Published: March 2007

The focus of this paper is the framework of issue analysis developed and used by the NAO to test value for money in Private Finance Initiative /Public Private Partnership (PFI/PPP) projects. The framework takes the form of a hierarchy of statements expressed in terms of advice to the procurer. Starting from the general, these statements become increasingly detailed and specific. The paper highlights the ‘four pillars’ of issue analysis. It then presents brief case studies, which illustrate each of the four pillars, based on specific deals in which the NAO has applied this methodology, before drawing some conclusions about auditing PFI projects. The NAO's rigorous framework has already helped public bodies to secure more favourable PFI deals and should help to improve the value for money of future PFI deals.
The Role of Competition and Competitiveness in Best Value in England and Wales
Authors: Bovaird Tony
Published: March 2007

The Best Value regime in England and Wales has already proven its worth during the pilot phase from 1997-2000 - it has led to distinctively different approaches in local government to consultation, to performance comparisons and performance review, and to partnership working. It appears that it has not yet made such obvious progress in the use of competitive mechanisms in best value authorities. However, this underplays the progress made since 1997. With the abolition of CCT in the pilots, evidence is emerging of a new maturity in local government's relationship with the private sector. In some authorities, this is evidenced merely by the fact that they are, at last, prepared to recognise the inevitability of the mixed economy of provision and are prepared to work within it. This article maps out the changing response of the Best Value pilot authorities to the issues of 'competitiveness' and competition, and uses four case studies to highlight emerging lessons.
Vouchers As an Alternative Public Sector Funding System
Authors: Valkama Pekka , Bailey Stephen J.
Published: March 2007

This paper analyses the voucher concept. It considers different types of vouchers in the public and private sectors, distinguishes between explicit and implicit vouchers, and develops both a general model and a local government model of vouchers. It also reviews arguments for and against vouchers, considers the characteristics and dimensions of vouchers and identifies the rights and responsibilities attached to their use. Based on this comprehensive analysis, it develops a new definition of public service vouchers incorporating exit and voice. The analysis also provides a schema that can be used to design, modify and evaluate individual voucher systems.
Accountability and Annual Reports: The Case of Policing
Authors: Law Jennifer
Published: March 2007

One of the features of the New Public Management is the increased use of Annual Reports as a mechanism of accountability. The aim of the paper is to assess whether the annual reports of the Chief Constable and the Police Authority provide appropriate information for Police Authority members to hold the Chief Constable to account. As intermediate users, the members of the Police Authority require information on efficiency, effectiveness and for ‘intelligence gathering’. However, the evidence suggests that although the reports have improved over time they do not contain the information necessary for accountability. These findings raise concerns over the proposed role of the local Best Value policing plan in securing accountability.
Whither the Ombudsman?
Authors: Giddings Philip
Published: March 2007

The British version of the Ombudsman has remained essentially the same since its introduction in 1967. The changes in public administration under the Thatcher-Major governments and the constitutional reforms of the Blair government have provided a climate of change for the public sector Ombudsman services. In the light of international comparisons this article considers what are the distinctive features of the British model and the extent of their inter-linkedness. After an analysis of the recently completed Cabinet Office review and developments in the financial services sector, the article argues that the time is ripe for four radical developments of the Ombudsman system: abolition of the MP filter; a self-starting power; a ‘legislative comment’ role; and the integration of the public sector schemes.
Maximising the Contribution of Neighbourhoods - The Role of Community Governance
Authors: Sullivan Helen
Published: March 2007

Neighbourhoods in the UK are set to play an increasingly important role as one element of an emergent multi-level system of governance. The focus on neighbourhoods is important because it is at this level that key concerns about the role of the state and the health of democracy are most intimately played out. The Social Exclusion Unit of the UK Government has put forward proposals outlining the potential role and contribution of neighbourhoods to the practice of governance. This article critically appraises the proposals in the context of the wider modernisation agenda and with reference to the USA. It argues that notwithstanding the potential contribution of neighbourhoods, the managerialist emphasis of the SEU proposals risks marginalising the operation of democracy. It suggests that this presents a particular challenge for local government. In response to this challenge the article proposes the adoption of a community governance framework to facilitate both the managerial and democratic aims of the modernisation agenda. It outlines a proposed framework and highlights its strengths and limitations. It concludes that community governance can make an important contribution to a multi-level system of governance.
Modernising Policy-making for the Twenty First Century: The Professional Model
Authors: Parsons Wayne
Published: March 2007

The article critically reviews the ‘professional’ policy-making model advanced by the Cabinet Office’. report on Professional Policy-making for the Twenty-First Century. It argues that it is inadequate as a model of strategic policy making on three levels. First, it fails in its own terms by setting out to be a model predicated on the philosophy of what works, and yet it is unable in so many ways to demonstrate that what it prescribes works. Second, it tends to ignore the fact that politics and democracy are important dimensions of policy-making. Finally, it neglects the contribution which other schools of strategic thought could make to the formulation of a strategic model which may be more appropriate and relevant to policy-making in conditions of ignorance, unpredictability, uncertainty, and complexity.
Civil society, virtue, trust: implications for the public service ethos in the age of modernity
Authors: Barberis Peter
Published: March 2007

Laments about the decline of public morality and the public service ethos have found expression from across the political spectrum. The age of modernity (or post-modernism) makes more difficult, though by no means impossible, the maintenance of a civil society in which ‘virtue’ and ‘trust’. feed the public service ethos. Indeed modernity has greater need for civil society, virtue and trust at exactly the same time as their stock are receding. Governments have, among other things, applied indiscriminately the ‘heavy’ regulatory regimes necessary to deal with impropriety, in the process stifling the public service ethos. Virtue cannot be commanded; trust is an elusive ‘commodity’. Neither can be secured by administrative fiat, though government can help to create conditions conducive to their nourishment - or, more decisively, stifle their growth. Heavier regulatory regimes and more elaborate codes are understandable and perhaps rational responses to malfunctioning but, if pressed too far, become counterproductive. There should be a retreat from the excesses of ‘management by numbers’. Leadership remains important but, in the age of modernity, no longer suffices as the talisman. There must be greater emphasis upon citizenship.
From Muddling Through to Muddling Up - Evidence Based Policy Making and the Modernisation of British Government
Authors: Parsons Wayne
Published: March 2007

This article critically reviews the approach to evidence based policy-making (EBPM) advanced in the Labour government's modernisation agenda. The article contends that EBPM must be understood as a project focused on enhancing the techniques of managing strategic policy-making as opposed to improving the capacities of the social sciences to influence the ‘practices of democracy’ as envisaged by Lasswell, or facilitating the kind of systems thinking advocated by Schon and by more recent students of ‘complexity’.
Making Sense of ‘What Works’: Evidence Based Policy Making as Instrumental Rationality?
Authors: Sanderson Ian
Published: March 2007

The notion of evidence-based policy making (EBP) has gained renewed currency in the UK in the context of the current Labour Government's commitment to modernise government. Thus, a key driver of modernisation is seen as evidence based policy making and service delivery - ‘what matters is what works’. The aim of this article is to critically examine the assumptions underpinning EBP asking, in particular, the extent to which the increased emphasis on the role of evidence in policy making is indicative of ‘technocratic politics’ underpinned by an instrumental rationality which erodes the normative basis of policy making and undermines the capacity for ‘appropriate’ practice. It is argued that the current emphasis on EBP needs to be understood in the context of recent trends in governance processes and the development by New Labour of performance management for public services. The nature of the evidence we can expect from evaluation and the role of evidence in policy-making practice are critically examined. It is argued that we need an expanded notion of ‘practical reason’ to guide ‘appropriate practice’ within the context of a broader framework of ‘responsible government.’
Out of the Loop? Councillors and the New Political Management
Authors: Fenwick John , Elcock Howard , Lilley Sara
Published: March 2007

As part of the local government modernisation agenda, and under the specific terms of the Local Government Act 2000, local authorities have been required to adopt one of the new models designed to strengthen their core executive: principally, the leader and cabinet, the elected mayor and cabinet, or the elected mayor and council manager. Although the new political management structures are now in place, little is yet known about how they have affected the lives and work of councillors. This paper presents the initial results from a study of elected members in four local authorities in the North of England. Based on a survey and interviews, the research explores the impact of the new arrangements, and other aspects of modernisation, upon the role of the councillor.
The ‘Modernisation’ of Political Management Arrangements in Post Devolution Scottish Local Government
Authors: McAteer Mark , Orr Kevin
Published: March 2007

While devolution has brought central government geographically and politically closer to local government it has not shielded it from pressures to ‘modernise’ its political management arrangements. However, devolution has created a different political context to other parts of the UK and this has allowed Scottish local government to voice its views on ‘modernisation’ with perhaps greater weight than is the case elsewhere. Moreover, ‘modernisation’ has not resulted in the decline of political parties and the diminution of the ‘political’ nature of local government decision making. Equally internal council political hierarchies remain important in the decision making processes of councils. However, while the language of ‘modernisation’ appears to be alien to many Scottish councillors, many of its associated activities are not. While different political parties view the issues relating to ‘modernisation’ in different lights it is important to note that when councillors form part of a local administration their views on the core issues of ‘modernisation’ are more similar than the party divide may suggest. Many of the core objectives of ‘modernisation’ are being delivered within Scottish local government but the forms that ‘modernisation’ is taking may not be those that Tony Blair or other prominent ‘modernisers’ may have chosen.
Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations: The Emergence of Intergovernmental Affairs Agencies
Authors: Horgan Gerard W.
Published: March 2007

Systems of intergovernmental relations are an intrinsic feature of multi-tiered systems of government. In executive-dominated, Westminster-style parliamentary federations, these relations tend to be co-ordinated by specialist agencies located near the centre of government. Such agencies, though small, have been established in the UK government as well as in the Scottish and Welsh devolved administrations. To date, pre-devolution norms of friendly and informal relations among civil servants, and the continued primacy of decentralised, inter-departmental relations, have facilitated mostly cordial intergovernmental interaction. To the degree that future devolved administrations seek more persistently to pursue a coherent set of policy priorities in their relations with central government, they may choose to further centralise co-ordination of IGR. While such a move may well be warranted from a policy perspective, it may well also engender an institutional dynamic inimical to continued amicable relations between governments.
Local government, New Labour and ‘Active Welfare’: A Case of ‘Self Responsibilisation’?
Authors: Barnett Neil
Published: March 2007

The paradoxes within the ‘modernising’ project for local government have been well documented. However, these can be used to locate the local government agenda within broader changes to the welfare state. New Labour, in line with Third Way thinking, are attempting to create an ‘active welfare’ state, which stresses rights and responsibilities. Key elements here are duty to become involved and take up opportunities. As a part of the welfare system, Local authorities are responsible for implementing this agenda and for including themselves within it. The increasing move towards whole organisational audit and of ‘earned autonomy’ can be seen in this light. ‘Self inclusion’ and ‘ownership’ of the agenda are key elements within this re-structured approach. Using the Foucauldian notion of governmentality, it is argued that this represents a technology of government which is likely to have unintended consequences.
Public-Private Partnerships in Thailand: A Case Study of the Electric Utility Industry
Authors: Pongsiri Nutavoot
Published: March 2007

Although public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been viewed as a framework for describing intersectoral co-operative ventures between government and the private sector, little attention has been paid in previous researches to the characteristics of co-operative behaviour in the partnering organisations, as well as the measurement of partnership performance. This study blends important features of the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) paradigm with the Interorganisational Relations (IORs) theory to better understand the maintenance of public-private partnerships in Thailand's electric utility industry. Empirical results obtained from the questionnaire survey of public and private management executives from seventy-one organisations indicated several interesting factors relevant to implementation of successful public-private partnerships. These factors include risk allocation, the use of constructive conflict resolution techniques, control of asymmetric relationships, and the existence of contractual safeguards for sovereign risks. This study also offers some insights into the dynamics of the differences between the private and public sectors pertaining to partnership performance. The findings reveal that respondents in government/state-owned enterprises were more likely to perceive partnership performance based on programme performance improvement, better service/product provisions, and more opportunities to expand their business interests. The private firms, on the other hand, were more likely to focus on better investment potential and more opportunities to expand their business interests. Private with part-state ownership organisations identified more opportunities to expand their business interests as the most apparent indicator.
The Influence of Heclo and Wildavsky's
Authors: Parry Richard
Published: March 2007

Hugh Heclo and Aaron Wildavsky's Private Government of Public Money was one of the most influential public policy books of the 1970s because of the flair of its analysis and its pioneering use of interviews with policy-makers. Despite a revision in 1981 it fails to predict the demise of the system it celebrated the Public Expenditure Survey and associated Policy Analysis and Review - and its influence on subsequent studies of the Treasury has not been great. More lasting have been its analytical themes - the notion of ‘political administrators ’including both ministers and officials, a ‘trial of personalities’ as the key to policy-making, and the importance of the technical dynamics of the system in constraining behaviour. It pioneered a new way of writing about British central administration, although its depersonalised and anonymised presentation, and masculinised image of the ‘club’ has been superseded. Some of the authors' policy prescriptions have also proved prescient. Although the book now seems to lack the systematic and quantitative analysis that its subject-matter invited, its written style is memorable and its effect on other researchers remains inspirational.
Peter Self's Legacy: Economic Hegemony and the Public Domain
Authors: Painter Chris
Published: March 2007

Peter Self (1919-1999) was a participant in the policy-making domain as well as a distinguished academic. This assessment is primarily concerned with his contribution to the academic study of political science, including the sub-disciplines of public policy and public administration. It selects four ‘volumes of influence’ spanning the period from 1972 to 2000. The evaluation particularly focuses upon the relevance of Self's work to on-going predicaments faced by governments, not least the light that work continues to shed on issues inherent in the public management paradigm so dominant in the discourse of the public domain during the last 25 years. It can be contended that Self's social democratic mindset had not fully come to terms with the changing parameters within which governments nowadays must operate and that, as such, he was very much a creature of the 20th rather than the 21st century. Yet, by reaffirming the importance of the public domain in addressing the problems and challenges of contemporary society, the selected work was unusual in providing a coherent narrative. Moreover, in delineating dilemmas arising from conflicting administrative values, Self elucidated underlying administrative tensions that continue to bedevil ‘third-wayism’.
Beyond Deterrence: Rethinking the UK Public Policy Approach Towards Undeclared Work
Authors: Williams Colin C.
Published: March 2007

The aim of this article is to evaluate critically the UK public policy approach towards undeclared work that targets deprived populations and seeks to deter people from engaging in such work by ensuring that the expected cost of being caught and punished is greater than the economic benefit of participating. Reporting evidence from an extensive study of undeclared work in 861 households in contemporary England, this article reveals not only that such work is concentrated in relatively affluent populations rather than in deprived areas, but also that the vast majority of such work in deprived populations is conducted for friends, neighbours and kin for rationales associated with redistribution and building social capital rather than making or saving money. Given this recognition that undeclared work in deprived populations is in major part a product of a culture of paying for favours and a form of mutual aid, the argument of this article is that the current deterrence approach needs to be replaced by an approach that seeks to provide substitute mechanisms to enable such populations to continue to engage in such paid favours but in a more legitimate manner than is currently the case.
Drawing Voluntary Organisations into the Information Polity: Information Resources and Macro Politics
Authors: Burt Eleanor , Taylor John
Published: March 2007

This article examines the ways that voluntary organisations are re-positioning as democratic actors as they are drawn into new (electronic) relationships with government. Drawing upon our own empirical research we examine the new information resources and requirements that are emerging around these organisations as this re-positioning is played out. We look, too, at the emergent information relationships and capabilities that are enabled as voluntary organisations begin to harness information and communication technologies (ICTs) in pursuit of democratic objectives. Employing the concept of the ‘information polity’ we map out a framework for the sustained empirical enquiry that will allow new patterns of influence to be mapped and understood.
Deliberative Democracy and Urban Regeneration: Justification and Evaluation
Authors: Muers Stephen
Published: March 2007

The current orthodoxy of urban regeneration is that it is essential to involve the community in decisions about regeneration programmes. This article argues that the justification for this position is often unclear and explores three different theoretical arguments for deliberative democracy in an urban regeneration context. It concludes that there are fundamental theoretical flaws with arguing for deliberation on the grounds of legitimacy, and that arguments based on the nature of knowledge or the nature of society are more promising. However both of those types of arguments will only justify deliberation in certain circumstances, and it is an empirical question as to whether or not a specific regeneration project meets the necessary criteria. The article concludes by using this purely theoretical discussion to construct nine questions to guide empirical evaluation of attempts to employ deliberative democracy in urban regeneration.
Horizontal or Vertical Support: Dilemmas for Patient Advice and Liaison Services in the NHS
Authors: Bentley Jane , Abbott Stephen , Meyer Julienne , Lanceley Anne
Published: March 2007

Every hospital, mental health, primary care and specialist trust in the English National Health Service (NHS) should have a Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), to provide information and support to NHS patients with questions or concerns. PALS should also act as a catalyst for service improvement. This article draws on findings from a qualitative study of London PALS. In particular, it focuses on data generated during observation of meetings of PALS staff in each of London’. five Strategic Health Authority (SHA) sectors, over a period of nearly two years. It describes two types of support received by PALS staff horizontal peer support (the sector meetings themselves; other informal and local PALS contacts; the National PALS Development Group) and vertical hierarchical support (the trusts where PALS are based; Strategic Health Authorities; the Department of Health (DoH)). PALS staff appreciated horizontal support more unequivocally than vertical. Both types of support (horizontal and vertical) reflect parallel government agendas. The Government intends the NHS to become a much flatter hierarchy, and in non-hierarchical structures, staff are expected to look to peers for support. However, a centralised performance management regime also requires staff to look upwards for guidance. As ‘boundary spanners’ working between services and service users, PALS staff are at risk of isolation, and need both types of support to be effective
RDAs and Benchmarking: Learning from Good Practice when the Model has Broken
Authors: Danson, Michael , Helinska-Hughes Ewa , Hughes Michael
Published: March 2007

Following a Europe-wide survey, a model RDA was defined by Halkier and Danson (1997, p.245) as a body which, first, organisationally is in a semi-autonomous position vis-a'-vis its sponsoring political authority; second, supports mainly indigenous firms by means of ‘soft’ policy instruments; and, third, is a multifunctional and integrated agency, the level of which may be determined by the range of policy instruments it uses. The breakdown of this model in the period since then (Danson and Helinska-Hughes, 2003 & 2004) raises important issues for the dissemination of good practice. By contrast, leadership qualities, good practice, efficiency and effectiveness may have become to be associated with the smaller focused EDAs (economic development agencies) and not with the large traditional institutions such as Scottish Enterprise (SE) and the Irish agencies. Regional development agencies (RDAs) are at the forefront of those who place strong weight on the role of knowledge, knowledge transfer and the knowledge economy in economic development. To promote such an approach, strategies have been evolved which seek to recognise and build upon the idea of the ‘learning region’ (Cooke and Morgan, 2000). Attention is paid, therefore, to ensuring there is appropriate institutional capacity and thickness to support this corporate learning (Wong, 1999). These concepts are themselves believed to be underpinned by trust and cooperation between economic actors and, in turn, these are established and nurtured through networking and partnership working (Danson and Whittam, 1999; Danson and Cameron, 2000). This article reports on two surveys conducted to determine which agencies are considered to be ‘model’ and leading players: the organisations from which others learn. The article concludes that EDAs and experts tend to benchmark against a set of similar specialist agencies rather than the traditional leading model agency. In this context: • many EDAs lack benchmarking experience; • there is often little awareness of what others are doing; • as a result there is a lack of an industry standard to gauge the performance of SE and other EDAs; • there is uncertainty over which performance indicators are appropriate; and • the varying social, economic and political contexts and environments within which different agencies operate, etc. make it difficult for agencies and commentators to benchmark generally.
Administrative Reform Movements and Commissions in Belgium, 1848-2004
Authors: Thijs Nick , Van de Walle Steven
Published: March 2007

Current analysis of the public administration's dysfunctions in Belgium bears remarkable resemblance to the analyses made by numerous authors and commissions in the past 150 years. In this article, we provide an overview of the major administrative reform initiatives in Belgium between 1848 and 2004. We focus on a number of books and reports from the period between the mid-19th century and the First World War, that were the foundation for many analyses in the 20th century. The interbellum saw the introduction of several reform commissions, and the appointment of a Royal commissioner who would introduce some of the most radical reforms ever in the Belgian civil service, the influence of which can still be felt today. After the Second World War, the focus of the reforms changed to efficiency, and later to economy. In the late 1980s, ‘citizen ‘and ‘client’ became a central concept in the reform discourse. Even though the administrative reforms and reform initiatives in Belgium since 1848 are quite diverse, there is a striking consistency in the problems that have been identified as causes for administrative malfunctioning: the influence of politics and ministerial cabinets, the size of the administration, and the administration's inefficiency.
Contemporary Public Library Provision in England: A Content Analysis of the Highest and Lowest Scoring Inspection Reports
Authors: Higgins Paul
Published: March 2007

This article adds to the literature on public services inspection by tracking the evolution of the BV inspection process within the service specific context of English public library provision. Drawing upon a range of policy documentation and a longitudinal content analysis of the highest and lowest scoring BV library inspection reports, the article draws attention to the reports' coverage of the libraries' procedures for income generation, competition, outsourcing and public-private partnership. This focus is used both as a means to examine the argument that contemporary public sector reform measures have led to the increased liberalisation and commercialisation of public libraries and to check the stability of the inspection processes over time. The findings from this analysis reveal that although the content of much of the early policy documentation and initial inspection reports lend support to the increased commercialisation and liberalisation argument, a slightly more balanced picture emerges when this analysis is extended to include the findings from more recent library inspection reports. In reaching these conclusions, however, broader question marks about the longer-term stability of the inspection process are also raised.
Towards Developing an Organisational Commitment - Public Service Motivation Model for the Maltese Public Service Employees
Authors: Camilleri Emanuel
Published: March 2007

Many European public service organisations are undergoing major reforms related to their European Union membership. Therefore, the development of a model to explore and understand the dynamics of the relationships between dominant antecedents, organisational commitment and public service motivation is perceived to be essential for the successful implementation of the change management process. Five categories of antecedents were considered in examining their relationship with the dimensions of organisational commitment and public service motivation. Structural equation modelling outcomes indicate that organisational commitment strengthens public service motivation, and that affective organisational commitment has a direct effect on all the dimensions of public service motivation. Furthermore, the employee perception of the organisation antecedent is the best predictor for affective and normative organisational commitment; whilst alternative job opportunity is a better predictor for continuance organisational commitment. Moreover, family life cycle status has a direct relationship with most public service motivation dimensions but not with the organisational commitment dimensions. Finally, the cross model validation has provided satisfactory results particularly for the public service motivation dimensions.
Public Management Reform: An Identity Project
Authors: Meyer Renate , Hammerschmid Gerhard
Published: March 2007

Based on an executive survey this article analyses the extent to which a new managerial logic has replaced traditional administrative values and identity in Austria. We do not find any strong evidence of a new managerial logic but rather modifications, local translations and the emergence of a hybrid identity.
The information revolution, health reform and doctor-manager relations
Authors: Wood Bruce
Published: March 2007

In the 1980s and 1990s in both Britain and America computerisation of patient data led to a raft of comparative performance indicators. The 'information revolution' began with measures of efficiency (or outputs, such as bed usage and length of hospital stay); more recently attention has begun to focus on effectiveness (or clinical outcomes, as in the case of evidence-based medicine). Simultaneously health reforms centred, in Britain, on improved management systems and the introduction of a quasi-market, and, in the United States, on managed care, cost controls and hospital mergers. This case-study of an American general hospital uses the classic Alford framework of three groups of structural interests (doctors, managers and patients) to assess the impact of these informational and organisational developments on doctor-manager relations in Britain and America. Cross-cutting local alliances based on common interests indicate that Alford's groups of structural interests should not be perceived as monolithic.