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SummaryIn a cross-sectional study of gallstone disease, ascertained by ultrasonography, the prevalence was assessed in relation to clinically diagnosed gallstones in first degree relatives by selected socioeconomic factors. In both sexes, clinically diagnosed gallstones among first degree relatives occurred significantly more frequently among subjects with than among those without gallstone disease. None of the socioeconomic variables was significantly associated with gallstone disease in females. In males gallstone disease was positively associated with longer school education, living alone, and duration of residence in the municipality of Copenhagen.

A number of new governance structures has been introduced in the Danish public sector. These include contract agencies, user boards, boards of directors, marketization, corporatization, involving voluntary organizations in public services, EU‐funded state border crossing co‐operation, and Europeanization in many forms. Despite their obvious dissimilarities, these governance structures have one thing in common: they challenge the foundations of the public sector and territorial representative democracy by blurring the distinctions between politics and administration; between public and private; and between national and international. If politicians and voters are deprived of the capacity to make these distinctions, political responsibility is bound to fade away. Also, each new governance structure down‐loads degrees of indeterminateness in the public sector since they may interact in unforeseen ways and introduce new actors, roles and practices in the public sector. This may cause the development of a more flexible public sector marked by 'local' appropriateness and adaptability but also by a multitude of inconsistent models and principles. To avoid the latter, a general discourse on values and their institutional requirements and the invention of public 'domains' is needed.

Control is usually seen as hierarchical, centralized inspection. Without control, chaos is thought to prevail. This tendency can be illustrated by the way the public sector seems to solve most social problems: by legislation and bureaucracy. In this article five control forms are developed: bureaucracy, market, democracy, collective, and knowledge. Their similarities and differences are outlined, and the principles behind their use and internal dynamics are analysed. Finally, the development of control forms in modern societies is discussed.

Exploring boundaries and meanings of public value, the authors seek to identify some of the impediments to progress in the study of public values. The study of public values is often hamstrung by more general problems in the study of values. The authors begin by identifying analytical problems in the study of values and public values. Then they take stock of the public values universe. To identify public value concepts, relevant literature is reviewed and interpreted. Finally, the analytical questions posed in the first section are addressed, focusing specifically on issues related to the hierarchy, causality, and proximity of public values.