CUMULATION AND ITC DECISION-MAKING: THE SUM OF THE PARTS IS GREATER THAN THE WHOLE

In 1984 Congress amended the antidumping and countervailing duty laws, man-dating that the International Trade Commission (ITC) "cumulate" imports across countries when determining injury. We estimate that cumulation increases the probability of an affirmative injury determination by 20 to 30 percent and has changed the ITC's decision (from negative to affirmative) for about one-third of cumulated cases. We also show that the protective effect of cumulation increases as the number of countries involved increases, holding import market share constant. That is, cumulated imports have a super-additive effect on ITC decision-making.     

Career Development and Guidance Programs Across Cultures: The Gap Between Policies and Practices

The authors summarize the presentations and discussions contributed to the symposium International Perspectives on Career Development by members of Group 5, who considered the topic of the structure and organization of career development programs in different nations. A capsule picture of the national setting, primary goals, components, objectives, and implementation strategies is presented. Papers fell largely into 4 categories: national programs with several components; large, but more specific programs, serving a national population; smaller programs serving diverse populations; and focused programs. One theme emerged strongly from virtually every presentation: There is a gap, often profound, between policy or vision and reality. Although every nation about which participants heard had laudable policies and had made genuine attempts to assist its people with life career development, many individuals do not have access to quality, or even any, services.     

The Dodo Manifesto

In this article I review the psychotherapy outcomes literature as it pertains to the Dodo hypothesis. This is the proposition that the effects of psychotherapy are due to common factors rather than specific techniques. A variety of sources provide substantial empirical support for the Dodo hypothesis. I conclude that CBT and medication do not appear to be any better than other methodologies for the treatment of psychological distress. I look at some of the criticisms of the Dodo hypothesis. I suggest that the major themes that emerge from the literature as it stands are conclusions that would be immediately obvious to most clinicians. Further, the utility of specific techniques has not been ruled out, due to some serious conceptual flaws in efficacy trials. I suggest that there are a number of ways for family therapists to survive in an evidence‐based world. One is to point out to champions of evidence‐based practice just how flimsy their claims are. Another would be to advocate for pluralism and to practise and conduct research under the aegis of a contextual philosophy.     

Energy modelling: A new challenge for management science

The Arab oil embargo in 1973 and the subsequent price rises and production restrictions have given birth to a distinct branch within Management Science: energy modelling. This paper gives a critical and selective review on energy modelling, an industry which though thriving in an era of general economic anxiety, is showing signs of arrogant immaturity. After giving a historical background, the paper classifies energy models into three groups: open loop demand or supply models; energy closed loop models; energy-economy closed loop models. For each group the problem area is analysed and some illustrative examples are described. In the last sections, an attempt is made to sum up the experience that has been gained with energy modelling: the basic deficiencies, the impact of this activity on policy formulation and its position within Management Science. It is concluded that energy models, though very poor forecasting devices, can be very useful to policy makers as tools for analysis; energy model developers must convince potential model users and for that purpose they can benefit immensely from the 35-year-long experience accumulated by their colleagues in Management Science.     

Large scale communication networks—Design and analysis

The paper discusses the problem of design and analysis of large scale communication systems. An iterative process, composed of a minimum cost network design algorithm and a network performance algorithm, is presented for the solution of these problems. Computational considerations, using these algorithms, are discussed.     

Canadian small settlements and the uptake of agricultural land, 1966–1976

The total area of built-up land in Canada is estimated, for the first time, and divided into two categories: the extent of all large urban areas, and the extent of all small urban areas. The agricultural quality of land urbanized between 1966 and 1976 is also estimated. Contrary to expectations, this area is small compared with the entire stock of land with agricultural capability. Small settlements, however, are expanding rapidly and have relatively generous space standards. The aggregate effect of this rural urbanization on Canadian agricultural production is not currently monitored, and a redirection of policy and analytical attention towards the small settlements is suggested.     

The use of strategic planning techniques in the United Kingdom

In this paper some of the techniques available for strategic planning are reviewed. Four techniques are presented, the experience curve, the growth-share matrix, the directional policy matrix and the PIMS program. The results of a survey into the use of these techniques in the United Kingdom are also presented.     

When do Public Managers Imitate Each Other? Mimetic Decision Making in Contracting Decisions of Danish Municipalities

Using organizational new institutional theory, this paper explores a core mechanism underlying contracting decisions in public organizations. A central proposition of this branch of institutional theory is that uncertainty leads to organizational isomorphism. The present study investigates this proposition by asking: When does perceived uncertainty lead public managers to imitative behavior in contracting out decisions? Contrary to most previous studies, we apply an individual level approach and relate different types of perceived uncertainty of decision makers to mimetic decision making. We define mimetic decision making as when decision makers deliberately obtain information about other organizations in order to possibly imitate them. In a survey of Danish municipal managers facing important and complex contracting decisions, we test our hypotheses about three types of perceived uncertainty and mimetic decision making. The results show that technological uncertainty is strongly related to mimetic decision making among public managers. However, we do not find significant results for either volume uncertainty or performance uncertainty. The paper illustrates how uncertainty, through mimetic decision making, is connected to organizational isomorphism. It further highlights that future studies should pay attention to the multidimensionality of uncertainty and its consequences.