HALDANE ESSAY COMPETITION 1982
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1983.tb00506.x |
| Published date | 01 March 1983 |
| Author | B SMITH,D HARRISON |
| Date | 01 March 1983 |
COMMUNICATIONS
HALDANE
ESSAY
COMPETITION
1982
There were eighteen entries, six less than in 1981. The subjects dealt with were
aspects of the civil service ranging from pensions to the civil servant’s search for
the common good
(4),
local government
(3),
communication and other problems of
government
(2),
shipmoney in the 17th century (l), policy theory
(l),
audit (l),
international negotiations (l), foreign aid (l), health insurance (l), social security
(l), crime prevention (l), and prisons
(1).
The standard of the entries was generally good although some had small
grammatical or typing errors which should have been corrected .on the final
drafting
of
the essays. Unfortunately a few essays exceeded 9,000 words and the
Rules of Competition provided that ’Longer entries will not be considered’.
None of the subjects chosen were lacking in interest but that interest was not
ilways matched by the style or vigour of the presentation and many failed either to
define their theme or, having defined it, to support it throughout the essay. Some
presented familiar information and arguments without providing new insights
into the subject.
We found difficulty in making our final selection from the six or seven leading
entries. We recommend the award of the Silver Medal and
€100
prize to
’Isambard’ for an essay on ‘National Health Insurance 1911-1948’which we found
to be a clear and well written analysis based on original research
of
relevance to
contemporary social policy.
Two other essays are commended. ’Social Security and Social Structure’ by
‘Ratepayer‘ is a good paper which deals with a technical subject in a clear and
concise form. ‘The Audit Issue: Considerations in the British and Canadian
Contexts’ by I.F.C. Smith’ is an interesting and well planned comparative study of
a topical subject
of
considerable importance to all governments.
January 1983
D
HARRISON
B
SMITH
Isambard:
Kevin Glyndwr Carpenter, Executive Officer, Department of
Health and Social Security
Ratepayer
Rory O’Kelly, Administration Trainee, Department of Health and
Social Security
1.F.
C.
Smith:
Beverly Jane Ferguson, Project Manager, Ontario Ministry of
Community and Social Services
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