Comparing policy advisory systems beyond the OECD: models,dynamics and the second-generation research agenda

ABSTRACT

The concept of “policy advisory systems” was introduced by Halligan in 1995 as a way to characterize and analyze the multiple sources of policy advice utilized by governments in policy-making processes. The concept has proved useful and has influenced thinking about both the nature of policy work in different advisory venues as well as how these systems change over time. However, to date this work has examined mainly cases of developed countries and its application to developing and transitional countries is less certain. This paper sets out existing models of policy advisory systems based on Halligan’s original thinking on the subject and assesses the findings of many existing studies into OECD countries that advisory systems have been changing as a result of the dual effects of increased use of external consultants and others sources of advice – “externalization” – and the increased use of partisan advice inside government itself – “politicization”. Determining whether or not such changes have also characterized the situations found in developing and transitional countries and at the international-domestic and state-sub-state levels is the subject of the papers in this Special Issue.     

The competing risks analysis for parallel and series systems using Type-II progressive censoring

Abstract

Recently, the study of the lifetime of systems in reliability and survival analysis in the presence of several causes of failure (competing risks) has attracted attention in the literature. In this paper, series and parallel systems with exponential lifetime for each item of the system are considered. Several causes of failure independently affect lifetime distributions and observations of failure times of the systems are considered under progressive Type-II censored scheme. For series systems, the maximum likelihood estimates of parameters are computed and confidence intervals for parameters of the model are obtained using Fisher information matrix. For parallel systems, the generalized EM algorithm which uses the Newton-Raphson algorithm inside the EM algorithm is used to compute the maximum likelihood estimates of parameters. Also, the standard errors of the maximum likelihood estimates are computed by using the supplemented EM algorithm. The simulation study confirms the good performance of the introduced approach.     

HR systems and leadership attachment affecting idea generation and implementation: An experiment and two-source multi-level study

This paper focuses on the direct and interactive influence of leadership attachment styles (secure, anxious, and avoidant) and commitment HR system on two distinct stages of the individual innovation process—idea generation and implementation. We test our hypotheses in two studies. An experimental study of undergraduate students establishes a positive effect of secure attachment on idea implementation. The interplay between commitment HR system and avoidant attachment marginally predict idea generation; commitment HR system and neither secure nor anxious attachment predict implementation. A multisource multi-level field study in three EU-based private firms replicates the direct role of commitment HR system in stimulating idea implementation (but not generation) and suggests that secure attachment fosters both generation and implementation, whereas anxious attachment hinders both. Moderation analyses support only a marginal interaction between commitment HR system and secure attachment in fostering idea generation. We discuss theoretical, practical, and future research implications.     

Using small data to interpret big data: 311 reports as individual contributions to informal social control in urban neighborhoods

Informal social control is considered a vital component of the well-being of urban communities. Though some argue that the actions that constitute this social process are often said to reflect territoriality, little else is known about how individuals contribute to it. The current study leverages a database of over 600,000 requests for government services received by the city of Boston, MA's 311 system as a way to answer such questions, focusing particularly on reports of issues in the public space arising from incivilities. In order to establish construct validity for the “big data” of the 311 system, they are combined with the “small data” of a survey of 311 users, permitting the simultaneous analysis of objective reporting behaviors with self-report attitudes. The analysis occurs in two parts. First, reporting of incivilities is distinguished behaviorally from reporting public issues arising from natural deterioration, and people are found to specialize in one or the other. Second, the survey is used to test whether the reports are a reflection of territoriality. Reports of incivilities were unique in their association with a desire to enforce local social norms. They were also associated with a second territorial motivation to benefit the community. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Extremum sieve estimation in k-out-of-n systems

This article considers the non parametric estimation of absolutely continuous distribution functions of independent lifetimes of non identical components in k-out-of-n systems, 2 ? k ? n, from the observed “autopsy” data. In economics, ascending “button” or “clock” auctions with n heterogeneous bidders with independent private values present 2-out-of-n systems. Classical competing risks models are examples of n-out-of-n systems. Under weak conditions on the underlying distributions, the estimation problem is shown to be well-posed and the suggested extremum sieve estimator is proven to be consistent. This article considers the sieve spaces of Bernstein polynomials which allow to easily implement constraints on the monotonicity of estimated distribution functions.     

Healthy Barbs: Activism Confronts Mortality

Barbara Brenner, JD, was the Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action (BCA) from 1995–2010. Before that, she was a longtime activist in the anti-war movement and an attorney who, for most of her career, practiced public policy law. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 at the age of 41, she took the helm of BCA. Under her leadership, the organization moved into a position of national advocacy—demanding research on the causes and prevention of breast cancer, including the role of industrial pollutants. Barbara started the “Think Before You Pink” campaign, encouraging people to question whether companies that display pink ribbons actually produce products that harm women's health or generate any funds to fight breast cancer. Her blog, “Healthy Barbs,” challenged readers to critique routine healthcare practices and policies. Barbara received numerous awards, including a Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2007, the Smith College Medal in 2012, and the ACLU-Northern California's Lola Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award in 2012. Barbara had a recurrence of breast cancer in 1996. She died of complications associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, on May 10, 2013.     

Stochastic comparisons between extreme order statistics from scale models

Stochastic ordering relations between extreme order statistics from exponential, Weibull and gamma distributions have been studied extensively by many researchers in recent years. In this work, we obtain various ordering results for the comparisons of two extreme order statistics from scale models when one set of scale parameters majorizes the other. The new results obtained here are applied when the baseline distributions are exponentiated Weibull or generalized gamma distributions. In this way, we generalize and extend some results established recently in the literature.     

Unraveling quantity discounts

We consider the situation in which a buying organization deals with a discrete quantity discount schedule offered by a selling organization. Furthermore, the buying organization can negotiate with the selling organization about the lot size and purchase price, but does not know the underlying function that was used by the selling organization to determine the quantity discount schedule. In this paper, we provide an analytical and empirical basis for one general quantity discount function (QDF) that can be used to describe the underlying function of almost all different quantity discount types. We first develop such a QDF analytically. Among other things, this QDF enables buying organizations to calculate detailed prices for a large number of quantities. We subsequently show that the QDF fits very well with 66 discount schedules found in practice. We discuss that the QDF and related indicators can be a useful tool in supplier selection and negotiation processes. It can also be used for competitive analyses, multiple sourcing decisions, and allocating savings for purchasing groups. Additionally, the QDF can be included in research models incorporating quantity discounts. We conclude the paper with an outlook on further QDF research regarding the characterization of commodity markets from a demand elasticity point of view.     

An evaluation of the tandem configuration automated guided vehicle system

The performance of a tandem automated guided vehicle (AGV) system is compared with that of conventional AGV track systems. In the tandem system the track is divided into non-overlapping, single-vehicle closed loops. Using simulation it is shown that, because of trips requiring delivery across loops, the tandem system has a higher expected travel time per load and thus a greater average time in system. When the loads are delivered within the original loop only, the tandem system has a lower average time in system than in conventional systems, although the difference is modest. Track layout appears to influence the average time in system much more than docs the dispatching rule invoked. The success of the tandem system is highly dependent on approximately even AGV utilization, which may be difficult to obtain in practice.