Showing papers in "Public Administration Review in 1979"

The many meanings of research utilization.

Abstract: This is a time when more and more social scientists are becoming concerned about making their research useful for public policy makers and policy makers are displaying spurts of well publicized concern about the usefulness of the social science research that government funds support. There is mutual interest in whether social science research intended to influence policy is actually "used" but before that important issue can profitably be addressed it is essential to understand what "using research" actually means. A review of the literature reveals that a diverse array of meanings is attached to the term. Much of the ambiguity in the discussion of "research utilization"-and conflicting interpretations of its prevalence and the routes by which it occurs-derives from conceptual confusion. If we are to gain a better understanding of the extent to which social science research has affected public policy in the past and learn how to make its contribution more effective in the future we need to clarify the concept. Upon examination the use of social science research in the sphere of public policy is an extraordinarily complex phenomenon. Authors who have addressed the subject have evoked diverse images of the processes and purposes of utilization. Here I will try to extract seven different meanings that have been associated with the concept. (excerpt)

More on cutback management: hard questions for hard times

Abstract: Automated Management Information Systems Are an Illusion: There are No Such Things. This is almost true! Most management information systems are automated clerical systems or, at best, automated routine management tasks. (In DMV, for example, these included license restoration and driver training notification subroutines.) Very few, if any, organizations have a completely automated MIS. It is possible that very few need them. Perhaps the whole point of this discussion is that there is a tremendous gap between the theory of MIS and its operational feasibility in a government agency. That the potential for sound management information flow and reports exists seems in little doubt, and executives cannot in good conscience ignore this means of improving agency operations. But management information systems can be developed at widely varying levels of detail and for widely varying costs. This variety in alternative design and investment often results in one of two equally unsatisfactory decisions. Either a system whose level of sophistication, cost, and complexity far outweighs its practical utility is chosen, or no real "system" at all is chosen-data collection and assembly goes on in an entirely ad hoc, unstructured basis. All of the assumptions about MIS that have been examined here have a grain of truth in them, but they also have more than a grain of falsehood. The executive who is installing or upgrading a management information system, then, should examine the claims that have been made about MIS very carefully before taking action.

Citizen Satisfaction With Urban Services: Potential Misuse as a Performance Indicator

Abstract: Sample surveys of citizens provide a potentially important method of collecting data for local policy analysis. Several Urban Institute publications have recommended that local governments annually conduct citizen surveys to aid in evaluating city services.' Local officials will probably collect information on citizen satisfaction with city services as part of such surveys. A danger arises that policy makers may misinterpret such information, especially if they use citizen satisfaction to measure service performance. This danger stems from two problems: 1) citizen responses to satisfaction and evaluation questions may not reflect actual service performance, and 2) difficult statistical and conceptual problems complicate the use of subjective data to evaluate service performance. Before examining these two problems, picture how local officials might use information about citizen satisfaction with a particular local service. Policy makers might compare satisfaction levels in different geographic areas, conclude that areas reporting lower overall satisfaction receive poorer quality service, and perhaps even reallocate expenditures accordingly.2 Similarly, policy makers might compare satisfaction expressed by different types of citizens, such as citizens from different demographic groups, to investigate whether one type receives better service than another. Although such procedures may seem sensible, in general they are invalid and potentially misleading.

Toward a theory of policy implementation: an organizational perspective

Abstract: John Wiley & Sons, 1958), pp. 26-27. 14. Harold Guetzkow, "Interagency Committee Usage," Public Administration Review, Vol. 10, No. 3, Summer 1950, p. 190. 15. Gulick and Urwick, op. cit. 16. The program is described in some detail in Allen Barton, et al., Decentralizing City Government (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath/Lexington Books, 1977). 17. John Lindsay, "Program for the Decentralized Administration of Municipal Services in New York City Communities," Office of the Mayor, December 1971. 18. Community schools and elementary schools are not truly separate field services, but their relationship is more complex than different levels of the same field service. The elementary school principal reports to the community school superintendent, who is responsible to both the Board of Education and the local Community School Board. This relationship does not affect our findings because only one response category was used for public schools. 19. The number of factors extracted from a factor analysis is normally determined by the minimum eigenvalue specification. Following accepted conventions, only factors with an eigenvalue of 1.0 or greater were extracted. 20. Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker, The Management of Innovation (London: Tavistock Publications, 1966), pp. 5-6. 21. For an application of this approach to administrative duplication, see: Martin Landau, "Redundancy, Rationality, and the Problem of Duplication and Overlap," Public Administration Review, Vol. 29, No. 4, July/August 1969, pp. 346-358. 22. The seminal article suggesting that the multiplicity of political units may be necessary to satisfy a multiplicity of different interests is: Vincent Ostrom, Charles Tiebout and Robert Warren, "The Organization of Government in Metropolitan Areas: A Theoretical Inquiry," American Political Science Review, Vol. 60, No. 4, December 1961, pp. 831-842.

To Manage Is Not To Control: Or the Folly of Type II Errors

Abstract: W begin with a vision: If a domain of tasks can be mapped to a formal logic, and if that logic orders the behavior of a large and complex organization, then that organization becomes a decision machine whose operations are entirely unambiguous and whose output occasions no surprise. To create such an organization is a monumental feat, requiring an intelligence of the order of Laplace's demon; or, as Madison might have put it, "So perfect a system is not for men. " But in the world of administration, the vision persists and is most prominently revealed in the contemporary pursuit of a curious device-the management control system. This idea, this concept, fortified by our increased capacity to apply formal sciences (mathematics and logic) to social situations, has so pervaded the discipline of applied management science as to have become its central preoccupation. In its literature, now vast in proportion, the term itself (MCS) has been used to cover and to commend a variety of formulas-PPB, PERT, CPM, MBO, Command and Control, and all manner of information systems. That these have not as a group produced striking successes, that many of them show a sustained record of failure, has not served to diminish either the expected utility or the normative appeal of the concept. Enthusiasm remains high, efforts to secure foolproof management control systems continue unabated, promising to perpetuate what must now appear as an unending cycle of vaunted introduction and veiled discard.

Perceptions of Incentives in Business and Government: Implications for Civil Service Reform

Abstract: 7 he deleterious impact of civil service systems on incentives in government organizations is frequently asserted, yet very little systematic research on this problem is available in the public administration literature.' This is surprising, since correction of this alleged harmful impact of merit systems on motivation and the administration of incentives is usually one of the major objectives of civil service reform efforts at various levels of government. Indeed, emphasis on this problem in the Carter administration's reform proposals has created such an upsurge in public discussion that the complaints should by now be quite familiar. Critics deplore the excessive constraints on the firing or disciplining of even the most grossly inadequate employee. Pay and promotion, they allege, are related to performance only weakly, if at all. For these and other reasons, it is charged that civil service systems in the United States tend to impose an excessive procedural rigidity and complexity on the administration of certain major incengives, such that the systems are detrimental to effective management, employee motivation, and productivity. In spite of the frequency of such criticisms, however, and their importance as an impetus to civil service reform, research on this issue is surprisingly sparse.2 The dearth of research may be due to some formidable difficulties in undertaking it. There are major conceptual and methodological challenges, including those encountered in any research on motivation and incentives.3 Difficulties in generalizing across the variety of personnel systems in the various governments in the United States might make any but the most massive study seem inadequate. Perhaps some persons regard the problem as quite obvious by now, and not in need of further analysis.

Beyond Muddling: Creativity.

Abstract: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1979 When I was a ten-year-old girl, Charles Lindblom wrote an article called "The Science of Muddling Through."' Two decades later, I find myself in the city manager's office reflecting on that article. In those 20 years, I was fascinated by, studied, and then became a public administrator. It's true: there is a lot of "muddling through" out here in the "real" world. But public administrators cannot settle for mere muddling. The stakes are too high. Each generation of administrators has the responsibility to improve the government and its impact on the society. Lindblom fulfills part of his responsibility by sounding a clear note in an orchestra of confusion.

The Mayor as a Policy Leader in the Council-Manager Form of Government: A View from the Field

Abstract: Foundation (PRA 76-15549) and the RANN Division of the National Science Foundation (I.E. 41202500). James L. Perry and Kenneth L. Kraemer, Diffusion and Adoption of Computer Applications Software in Local Governments, Final Report submitted to the Division of Policy Research and Analysis, National Science Foundation (Irvine, CA: Public Policy Research Organization, 1978); and Perry and Kraemer, Technological Innovation in American Local Government: The Case of Computing (New York: Pergamon, forthcoming). Four innovation processes were examined in the research: adoption, adoptability, transfer, and diffusion. Adoption refers to the decision surrounding whether or not a particular computer application will be adopted by local governments. Adoptability refers to probability that an application will be adopted by local governments. Transfer refers to the process of moving a computer application developed in one local government (or federal, state or private agency) to another local government. Diffusion refers to the overall spread of computer applications among local governments. 14. The survey was supported by the National Science Foundation, Research Applied to National Needs Division (I.E. 41202500). 15. Nan Lin and Gerald Zaltman, "Dimensions of Innovations," in Processes and Phenomena of Social Change, ed. Gerald Zaltman (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1973), pp. 93-116 at 109. 16. Kenneth L. Kraemer, "Local Government, Information Systems, and Technology Transfer," Public Administration Review, Vol. 36, No. 4 (July/August 1977).

Survey Research for Public Administrators

Abstract: In recent years there has been a growing awareness that administrative policy formulations and subsequent performance evaluations cannot rely solely upon economic analysis (e.g., cost-benefit assessments). This realization has produced a broad range of social assessments, emerging under a variety of labels including: evaluation research, social impact analysis, and qualityof-life accounts. Within the context of these social assessments, there is an increased emphasis on subjective indices (e.g., citizen preferences) as well as objective indices (e.g., physical characteristics). As Mark Schneider suggests, subjective measures may be more important than objective measures when assessing the general quality of life.1 While the physical dimensions of a given policy or service industry can be measured through a variety of empirical devices, subjective measurement normally entails some sort of direct contact with the public at large. This contact might involve public hearings, workshops, and/or policy delphi techniques; however, the most direct and potentially the most representative device for subjective assessment is survey research. Thomas Heberlein explains:

Management Strategies to Deal with Shrinking Resources

Abstract: 31. Stahl, op. cit., p. 159. 32. In the ultimate, resolution of such a question would reflect political power rather than a pure value determination. Let the activities preceding the passage of the reform act attest to this. 33. J. C. Doherty, "There's Room for Mischief in Those Bureaucratic Reforms," Washington Post (April 1, 1978), p. A13. 34. Though I must ask the reader to excuse my lack of sylloquistic rigor, the logic here is as follows: just as there exists a merit-patronage dichotomy, there also is a merit-seniority dichotomy. While patronage and seniority are not fungible, they equate to "non-merit." Thus, if one favors seniority (which the unions do), he cannot favor merit; if he does not favor merit, then he must favor patronage. 35. Stahl, op.cit., p. 301.,

Performance Monitoring Systems for Public Managers

Abstract: A major shift in the role of government as a provider of services occurred during the 1960s. The Johnson Administration's recognition of social problems in American society and the need to take action to solve them led to the development of the social goals of the "Great Society." Broad social programs were undertaken to improve the plight of the poor, improve educational opportunity, increase health and medical service, and expand public legal services. As these programs focused funds and personnel from federal, state, and local governments on social ills, Americans were encouraged to expect and ultimately demand more and better government services. It soon became clear, however, that a commitment of dollars and personnel were not sufficient to ensure that the social goals and performance objectives of these programs would be realized. One of the many lessons learned from this period of social experimentation was that "you cannot solve a problem by throwing money at it."

From Machiavelli to Ms: differences in male-female power styles.

Abstract: While the concept of power has always been a concern to students of political science and public administration, it has been examined only peripherally in the last few years. Recent work by McClelland has indicated that power may be a very important variable in explaining managerial behavior and organizational effectiveness. Starting with a definition of power provided by McClelland, this paper develops a conceptual framework for analyzing power-related behavior in an organizational setting. The framework is then applied to a problem area of particular interest to the authors--the question of whether or not women managers can be expected to behave differently than their male counterparts because of possible differences in their orientations toward power. We conclude that differences in power needs will not impede the effectiveness of female managers, but women may be at a disadvantage in the work environment due to possible differences in the way they express these needs.

Bureaucratic Response to Civil Service Reform

Abstract: On January 19, 1978 in his "State of the Union" message, President Carter stated that his proposed reform of the United States Civil Service was "absolutely vital" to fulfill his promise of "a government that is efficient, open, and truly worthy of our people's understanding and respect."' The passage of the Civil Service Reform Act thus constitutes one of the major accomplishments of the Carter administration. To date much has been heard and written concerning the public's view of the need for civil service reform. Veteran's groups made themselves heard concerning their interest in retention of veteran's preference.2 Academicians proffered well thought out weaknesses of the Carter proposals.3 Women and minority groups speculated on the impact of the reform.4 Administrative spokespersons expressed their view of the plan,s and civil libertarians commented on reform implications.6 Little is known, however, of the views of the people directly affected by the major portions of the legislation. This study investigates the views of top level executives who constitute the target population of a significant portion of the reforms and who will have the major responsibility for implementing these changes.

The Federal Push to Bring Computer Applications to Local Governments

Abstract: Federal officials concerned with science and technology policy have advocated the diffusion of technological innovations as means for improving the payoffs from R&D investments.' Both federal and local officials view the local government sector as an area for major payoffs from technological innovations aimed at improving productivity.2 Since local government is highly labor-intensive, they hope that significant productivity improvements can be achieved by replacing labor with capital investments in technology. This hope is illustrated by federal policy for the development of electronic data processing (EDP) among local governments. 3 This paper evaluates federal policy for support of local EDP in light of our recent research findings regarding what leads to the diffusion of computer applications among local governments. First, we provide a description of federal activities toward the development of EDP in local governments as a model of the policy context of application diffusion. Second, we identify some of the features which contribute to diffusion of computer applications among local governments. These are the processes federal policy is designed to influence. Third, we assess the match between policy and process in seeking to determine the effectiveness of federal policy.

On the Effective Use of Public Sector Expertise: Or Why the Use of outside Consultants Often Leads to the Waste of In-House Skills

Abstract: 9. Anthony Downs, Inside Bureaucracy (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1967. p. 83. 10. Interview with the authors, December 3, 1977. 11. Carol Weiss, "Research for Policy's Sake: The Enlightenment Function of Social Research," Policy Analysis, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Fall 1977), pp. 531-546. Further guidance on possibilities for the use of evaluation research appear in Ilene Bernstein and Howard Freeman's book titled Academic and Entrepreneurial Research: The Consequences of Diversity in Federal Evaluation Studies, (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1975). This book also provides informative contrasts between the characteristics of research performed for the government by universities versus private consulting firms. 12. Weiss, op. cit., p. 531. 13. Ibid.,p.532. 14. N. Caplan, A. Morrison, and R. Stambaugh, The Use of Social Science Research in Policy Decisions at the National Level (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Institute of Social Research, 1975). 15. L. Lynn, Knowledge and Policy: The Uncertain Connection (National Academy of Sciences), in press. 16. Guttman and Willner, op. cit., p. 35. 17. Ibid., p. 36.

Observations on the Role of Consultants in the Public Sector.

Abstract: Citizens have always expressed concern with their government's methods of spending their money. The intensity of these concerns has varied cyclically in American history, and governmental structure and efficiency is once again undergoing a period of thorough examination. Given the startling increases in the federal budget from $70 billion in 1954 to one-half trillion dollars in 1978, the present reexamination seems appropriate. The major focus of the current review is upon the reorganization of federal agencies. The need for greater order, simplicity, and efficiency in government was an issue in the 1976 presidential campaign. The line agencies do not carry out the government's work alone, however, and as the other papers in this symposium have indicated, outside consultants also play a major role in the conduct of the government's business. The Office of Management and Budget has begun to study consultants as well as the agencies themselves and has requested reports on the use of consultants from nearly 200 federal agencies. Federal policymakers are interested in streamlining the functioning of both the bureaucracy and their associated consultants. These policy-makers have indicated their concerns regarding these tasks, and a Chicago Tribune article has noted that, "privately, Carter advisers admit that reforming consultants may be more difficult than reorganizing the government." '

Flexitime: Its Implementation in the Public Sector

Abstract: Flexible work schedules (flexitime) which allow an employee some degree of freedom to select starting and quitting times are beginning to gain popularity in the public sector. Recent legislation is an indication of this growing interest. With the Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1978, federal agencies are now permitted to experiment with alternate work schedules such as flexitime. ' This article discusses the benefits, problems, and main issues that are involved in the use of flexitime by government agencies and its implications for labor relations. As flexitime has only recently been introduced into the public sector, much of the information is taken from private sector experience.

Consultants and Technology Transfer in the Public Sector

Abstract: Collaboration." Paper presented at a conference on University-State Government Linkages. State University of New York at Albany, February 4-5, 1977. 25. Irwin Feller, "Interim Observations, Reservations, and Other Cautionary Comments About University Assistance to State Government." Paper presented at a conference on University-State Government Linkages. State University of New York at Albany, February 4-5, 1977. 26. Lynn Anderson. Address at conference on University-State Government Linkages, State University of New York at Albany, February 4-5, 1977. 27. Gene A. Bramlett, "Some Generalizations about University Services to State Government." Paper presented at a conference on University-State Government Linkages. State University of New York at Albany, February 4-5, 1977. 28. Feller, op. cit. 29. Everett Rogers and F. Floyd Shoemaker, Communication of Innovations. New York: The Free Press, 1971.

People Doing What They Do Best: The Professional Engineers and NHTSA

Abstract: ew American automobiles will be required, beginning in the next decade, to be equipped with air bags. To some, including apparently the secretary of transportation, this is a natural and desirable step in the orderly development of better safety practices for the highway. In fact, the agency responsible for the air bag-the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)-promoted that innovation as an almost inevitable product of the way in which the agency has been staffed, organized, and led. Of the various ways of improving highway safety, reengineering the car is but one. It may or may not be the most effective way. Why, then, shall we have the air bags? While charged with a specific goal of reducing highway deaths and injuries, NHTSA was left by Congress with broad discretionary authority in determining the approach it should take in attaining that goal. In the period following its inception in 1966, NHTSA had to choose among the alternatives which could help accomplish its end. Any one or all of three factors-automobile drivers and their passengers, the vehicles, and the highway environmentmight be changed so as to decrease traffic accidents and deaths. Programs designed to reduce the level of human failure include driver educational programs, law enforcement assistance grants, and the rehabilitation and treatment of problem drinkers who drive. Efforts aimed at reducing the dangers stemming from the unsafe vehicle involve the promulgation of federal motor vehicle safety standards for individual automobile components (e.g., dashboard, steering wheels, head restraints, tires, doors). Finally, programs to improve the highway environment center upon reducing the dangers of the roadside (e.g., concrete bridges, sign posts, guardrails, traffic signals) or upon increasing and upgrading the availability and quality of safety resources for motorists (e.g., emergency medical treatment to accident victims). In this area, NHTSA shares responsibility with the Federal Highway Administration. FHWA holds primary responsibility for changing road construction and eliminating hazards while NHTSA is accountable for stimulating programs directed at improved safety resources for motorists. * How do the professional backgrounds of regulators affect the types of regulations they impose? This article addresses the question through a study of one of the most important federal regulatory agencies created during the "consumer movement" of the 1960's-the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Personal observation by the author of this agency's operation in 1976, ten years after its inception, led him to conclude that its professional engineers play a dominant role in definition of goals and in formulation of policy and operational methods. The article concludes with a case study of NHTSA's recent efforts to mandate air bags for all cars-a regulation consistent with the engineering bias of the organization.

The Populist Front in Rural Development: Or Shall We Eliminate the Bureaucrats and Get on with the Job?

Abstract: Distrust of the bureaucracy as an instrument of progress is nothing new. But it is flourishing with extraordinary vigor in this era when little else is taken for granted. Waves of suspicion now pervade the American domestic scene; and on the international front both the World Bank and the UN specialized agencies are now encountering the same skepticism that has already overtaken the once-exuberant U.S. foreign aid program. There is a fashionable turn in the old populism that rejects, in the United States and abroad, technicians and administrators, along with politicians and judges. The current populism began on the international scene after social reforms initiated by planning agencies and aid donors, and entrusted to technicians and administrators, simply failed to materialize. High expectations of the 1960s were frustrated both in Latin America and Southeast Asia as the results of their development and reform activities were examined and appraised. Technocratic approaches to a better quality of life, relying on guided democracy and planned social change, are now pejorative terms. The experiments in political modernization and administrative reform that flourished during the past fifteen years have produced political hypertension and administrative disillusionment. The public has begun to reject centralized authority whether located in national capitals or in city halls. One solution is the current effort to seek more effective and thorough-going means of involving citizens in decisions made and actions carried out in their name. International banks and foreign aid agencies are attempting to export demand politics and popular participation along with capital and technology. It would seem that the only good bureaucrats are those charged with the task of disarming, or at least unmasking, other bureaucrats.

Local Implementation Decisions for Community Development Block Grants

Abstract: improvements must be undertaken, such efforts as individual development, and specification of individual and organizational objectives represent a more promising avenue than the adoption of a private sector model of pay determination which is of questionable feasibility and appropriateness for the public sector. Emphasis on these matters may in themselves be a means to reducing the impacts of the constraints on administration of pay and disciplinary actions. See, in this regard, Chester A. Newland, "Public Personnel Administration: Legalistic Reforms vs. Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Economy," Public Administration Review 36 (Sept./Oct., 1976): 529-537. 28. Robert T. Golembiewski, Public Administration as a Developing Discipline, Part 2 (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1977), p. 195; and Buchanan, "Government Managers." 29. 29. There are some indications in this study and elsewhere that public managers, as compared to private managers, attach higher importance to service and altruistic values. See, for example, E. E. Lawler, Pay and Organizational Effectiveness (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973), p. 55. 30. Walmsley and Zald, Political Economy, p. 4n.

Managing the consultantship process

Abstract: The topic of "managing the consultantship process" has to grapple with two major issues. First is separating the act of selecting the consultant from the process of managing the consultant experience. This is simple only in theory. The problem is that selection of a consultant often determines how the management process will work, or if it is, in fact, possible. The second issue is a bit different-how does one find advice or information on the topic of "management" in view of the almost romanticized view of the process? Consultants are "Business Healers"' or "Efficiency Experts"2 particularly in the private sector literature (which is most of what is available). Consultants solve all corporate (and now public) ills. Their "buttoned-down", Ivy League, efficiency mystique quells, in many cases, inquiry into their effects and, most particularly, into their means of operation. There is, of course, increasing question about their use which often becomes outright criticism. This disenchantment, however, has seldom resulted in specific discussions of "managing" the consultantship experience. This is most unfortunate for public managers who face performance audits as well as public criticism if a contract goes "sour."

Gauging the Strength and Meaning of the 1978 Tax Revolt

Abstract: 8. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 9. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 10. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 11. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 12. The Effectiveness of Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, General Accounting Office. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1976. 13. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. A further indication of NHTSA's disinterest in cost-benefit analysis has been its slowness in developing an adequate data base on the causes of accidents-an essential ingredient for effective cost-benefit analysis. A 1974 GAO Report entitled Need to Improve Benefit-Cost Analysis in Setting Motor Vehicle Safety Standards was critical of the fact that it would be fourteen years after NHTSA's creation before such data was established: The need to know the causes of motor vehicle accidents is crucial to the Safety Administration's ability to develop programs and standards which will allow it to carry out its mission to save lives and reduce injuries. We question whether a program which may not provide the needed data until 1980 represents a level of effort in keeping with the Safety Administration's mission, p. 18. 14. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 15. An alternative, but not wholly incompatible, explanation for the T.V.A. behavior is presented by Phillip Selznick in his classic study T. V.A. and the Grass Roots. 16. The NHTSA administrators and their tenure are as follows: William Haddon, 1966-1968 Interim Acting Administrator 1969 Douglas Toms 1970-1972 James Gregory 1972-1976 John Snow 1976-1977 Joan Claybrook 1977-present 17. Hugh Heclo, A Government of Strangers: Executive Politics in Washington. (Washington: Brookings Institution) 1977. 18. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 19. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 20. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 21. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 22. Personal interview conducted by author, June-Sept., 1976. 23. FederalRegister, Vol. 41, No. 115, June 14, 1976, p. 2402. 24. U.S. Office of Science and Technology, RECAT Report, 1972. The RECA T Report also criticized an over-emphasis on technology: Regulation should not be based upon a blind faith in technology. Establishing standards beyond the known stateof-the-art on the theory that industry can do anything if enough pressure is put on it is not likely to result in wise governmental decision making or to provide the greatest net benefits to society.... The regulation of the automobile is not a game in which higher costs are imposed on the industry, it is the public which must bear the costs.